"you were in the bathroom"

Question

How do you say "you were in the bathroom"?

Answer 1

Using "estar", and then using either the imperfect or preterit sense of past:

For the imperfect sense of past:

(informal) Estabas en el (cuarto de) baño.

(formal) (Usted) Estaba en el (cuarto de) baño.

For the preterit sense of past:

(informal) Estuviste en el (cuarto de) baño.

(formal) (Usted) Estuvo en el (cuarto de) baño.

But there are many other words for bathroom (los servicios, el water), so it may vary depending on where you are located.

Me aparece que "el imperfecto" es el mejor tiempo en este caso. - Xocoyote, Feb 22, 2012

Answer 2

You would have to choose one of the past tenses, of course. So you have to choose between preterit or imperfect of the verb ESTAR (to be).

Type your phrase in to the translator on the homepage and see what you get:

"Estabas en el baño. "

They chose "estabas" (imperfect), and I tend to agree with that. The other choice would be to use estuviste (preterit)

It's a blurry line in this case between the two, so perhaps a native will be able to solidify this for us. After all, I'm sure it is an expression that is used all the time.

Answer 3

Tú estabas en el baño, usted estaba en el baño, vos estabas en el baño, or simply, estabas en el baño. (no, estaba en el baño, bacause that would be "I, he or she" was in the bathroom)

I don't think you need to specify the "tú" in your sentence. Just a thought... :) - Jason7R, Feb 22, 2012

Actually, you do need to specify tú, usted or vos in a lot of situations. Otherwise it could sound incomplete. Not always, but it is ak and correct because this is an answer or an explanation of why you didn't..something. - farallon7, Feb 23, 2012

Answer 4

''Tu estabas en el cuarto de bano''..

I don't think you need to specify the "tú" in your sentence. Just a thought... :) - Jason7R, Feb 22, 2012

Answer 5

This is just a side note....couldn't you use....
Eras en los servicios.... as well as Estabas en los servicios..... past action....no time specified....if you were talking about a time that wasn't specified of course.

Eras would not work here, and "estabas en los servicios" is a very, very old expression that I even forgot was used long time ago. - farallon7, Feb 23, 2012