Past continuous and imperfect

Question

Would someone please explain which of the following (if either) is correct and why or why not. - When should we use the past continuous or the past imperfect.

Thankyou

I was eating breakfast when ..

(Yo) estaba desayunando cuando ......

I ate breakfast when .......... (this is not good in English)

Comía desayunando cuando .........

Remember that comía can also be translated as 'I used to eat' - Kiwi-Girl, Oct 15, 2013

That is my problem Kiwi - but it seems that Spanish will use the imperfect to mean past continuous while the English just love using the -ing whenever possible and the Spanish do not. - ian-hill, Oct 15, 2013

Oh and English does not have an imperfect apart from "used to" - ian-hill, Oct 15, 2013

Answer 1

As far as I understand the two tenses overlap somewhat but as a general guide ...

Use the imperfect to talk about a habit, or an action that was spread over an extended period of time, this could be a continuous action or situation, or one with possible stops and starts.

Iba al centro todos los sábados. --> I used to go to town every Saturday.

Cuando era niña, vivía en el campo. --> When I was a child, we lived in the country.

Use the past progressive to speak of a particular event or situation that took place at a certain point in time, this tense is particularly good for setting the scene or to describe an action or situation that gets interrupted and possibly left unfinished.

Estaba leyendo un libro cuando sonó el teléfono.

I was reading a book when the phone rang.

Here you are referring to an ongoing action in the past as well, but one that happened at a certain time.

I understand but it is still confusing me. ha ha - ian-hill, Oct 15, 2013

Answer 2

That is my problem Kiwi - but it seems that Spanish will use the imperfect to mean past continuous while the English just love using the -ing whenever possible and the Spanish do not. - ian-hill

Well if I were you I would stick to the past continuous for specific situations and the imperfect for things of a more habitual nature. As I mentioned sometimes they'll overlap but I think it's the best place to start.

Estaba desayunando cuando ...

But

Desayunaba ...

I used to eat breakfast ...

I would eat breakfast ... (The past would for habits not the conditional)

I used to eat breakfast when .......... I cannot think of any normal situations where this structure would be used in English. - ian-hill, Oct 15, 2013

;) - Kiwi-Girl, Oct 15, 2013

I used to eat breakfast when I knew I had a busy day ahead, but normally I wouldn't bother. - Kiwi-Girl, Oct 15, 2013

Ha ha but - ........... normally I wouldn't "have" bothered. - ian-hill, Oct 15, 2013

Answer 3

I believe the former is correct....estaba desayunando cuando......Estar + Gerundio. The verb Comer, whilst meaning "To Eat", is also used in Spain to express "To Lunch" e.g. Comia en el cafe cuando, de repente, el camerero se cayo. In parts of Spain they also use Almorzar for "To Lunch". Maybe your latter example would be correct if you said...comia desayuno cuando...I was eating breakfast when...