Preterite and Imperfect Confusion

Question

I want to say: He did not believe in heaven or hell.

Would I say:

Él no creía que hubiera un cielo ni un infierno.

I want to imply that he still does not believe in either one.

Gracias!!

No creía en el cielo ni en el infierno - alcaudon, Jun 20, 2013

Gracias, alcaudon. - annierats, Jun 20, 2013

Answer 1

Merely by the way, there is an interesting parallel in English, which surely developed its present perfect from Latin and through French:

(1) We have done it

(2) We have it done

Answer 2

Alcaudon is a native speaker of Spanish whose answer is correct for what you wrote in English.

Assuming that the person you are talking to already knows that you are talking about "he", you don't need the Spanish pronoun él.

Your English sentence did not say "that there was a heaven or hell so you don't need the past subjunctive hubiera.

Usually the words know, believe are in the imperfect when talking about the past: I knew = sabía, I believe = creía, because they imply a period of time passing in the process rather than a moment in the past.

The preterite supe means "I found out".

"Alcaudon is a native speaker of Spanish whose answer is correct for what you wrote in English". Es Verdad. But for the implicatiion sought it would all have to be rewritten. - EugenioCosta, Jun 20, 2013

Answer 3

No ha creído... [another late Latin construction, borrowed by the Germans without any idea at all of the present perfect].

Gracias, Eugenio! - 00fd5b5c, Jun 19, 2013

Answer 4

Habeo + the perfect passive participle is a dissertation in itself, and central to Romance languages. Its earlier use in Classical Latin had expanded by the Fourth Century AD into a different meaning, and often trying to figure out which is which in this or that text is more mental exercise than a vigorous game of chess at master level.

Not much online but the following link is a good start: http://books.google.com/books?id=iFVJAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA462&lpg=PA462&dq=Habeo+++the+perfect+passive+participle&source=bl&ots=OOt7UIWkw_&sig=yQ7trsKVqfZ31qbGEjWmbE_iUa8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=7cnCUevFKKndyAG7i4GoBA&ved=0CEIQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=Habeo + the perfect passive participle&f=false

I tried the link and didn't get anywhere. - Jubilado, Jun 20, 2013

Tried and went through to p.426, as intended. Put it in the address box not in the search box. - EugenioCosta, Jun 20, 2013