When to use present perfect and preterit tenses?
When do I know when it's appropriate to use either? In what situations? For example, Trying to say: I didn't finish the video.
Do I say:
no ha terminado el video
or
No terminé el video
2 Answers
In my recent Spanish movie course, I discovered that in many parts of Spain the present perfect is used almost all the time. However, this is not true in Mexico, nor probably in all of Latin America. There, let English be your guide, as the choices are more or less equivalent.
By the way, it is possible that your sentence would work better in a passive construction:
No se ha terminado/acabado el video, No se terminé/acabé el video. But maybe you can use either this construction or your example equally. I am wondering whether No lo terminé might suggest "I didn't destroy the video." I hope a real Spanish speaker will comment on this.
I discovered that in many parts of Spain the present perfect is used almost all the time
