If The Time Is Specified In A Question...

Question

If the time is specified in a question, for example "Que hiciste ayer?" then do you answer in the perfect or preterit tense? Sorry if this is a silly question, but how to answer just confuses me when people ask me what I've done since they last saw me.

Thank you!

Welcome to the forum Leon :) - Kiwi-Girl, Dec 15, 2011

Answer 1

I wouldn't rule out the need for imperfect tense for yesterday, in addition to preterite or perfect.

For example, if I bought a car yesterday, it's a once-and-done event:

Compré un coche ayer.

If I was working yesterday, I might say,

Trabajaba ayer.

So, in posing a question, couldn't I be understood if I asked,

¿Qué hacías ayer?

I would ask this if I wanted to know what you were doing all day, rather than certain completed events. If I were interested in events, I might not ask 'what did you do' but rather ask 'what happened yesterday'.

Just thinking out loud...

Sounds reasonable to me, but obviously I am not at a high enough level to judge that. :-) - Stadt, Dec 15, 2011

I think I saaid it before, pesta, great minds think alike. Yours is way ahead of mine, but the idea is the same. It helps, I think. - annierats, Dec 15, 2011

That really helps me! Thanks for taking the time to help. :) - leonarlott, Dec 15, 2011

Answer 2

To me:

¿Qué hiciste ayer?= What did you do yesterday?

¿Qué has hecho desde ayer?= What have you done since yesterday?

So in general would answer the first in the preterite and the second in the perfect, ie in the tense it was asked.

I would say there may be further subtlety to this that I am not getting, that someone may come along and add.

That's a really good point! Thanks for helping. :-) - leonarlott, Dec 15, 2011

Answer 3

It depends what you did yesterday.. Was it something you usually do, or a once off? Were you doing it when something else happened? The actual time is not very relevant, at least not mostly.Yesterday, last week, last year are, on the whole treated the same.

ROLF, the most ungrammatical person on the planet handing out advice now... - annierats, Dec 15, 2011

You're definitely thinking like me. I'm taking nothing for granted any more, except that I usually come up with the wrong answer! :) - pesta, Dec 15, 2011