Troublesome sentence

Question

Hi, I'm trying to say "after we had had a good time at a party, we went/ used to go to a park." My attempt is "después de lo habíamos pasado en grande a una fiesta, íbamos a un parque"

Could anyone tell me if this is right?

I'm particularly unsure about the "lo" & the "a".

Thanks a lot.

Answer 1

Is it just me or does this seem awkward in English too?

The party is a one off event so I don't see how you can follow it with 'we used to go' to the park, surely you'd have to say 'we went' (preterite).

After having a good time/enjoying ourselves at the party we went to the park.

So if we stick to the preterite my suggestion would be ...

Después de pasarlo bien en la fiesta fuimos al parque.

it was just me lol - ok so it wasn't 'the' specific party it was 'a' as in parties in general. For the English then I'd say, After having had a good time at a party we would go to the park. And in Spanish ... Después de haberlo pasado bien en una fiesta - Kiwi-Girl, Oct 16, 2013

solíamos ir a un parque. - Kiwi-Girl, Oct 16, 2013

Answer 2

Now that your sentence is better understood, I would say (in the Americas): Después de haberlo pasado bien en una fiesta/pachanga, solíamos ir a un parque.

However "pasarlo en grande" would also be understood anywhere.

Answer 3

The phrase

lo hemos pasado en grande

Is in the present perfect tense of the indicative mood (perhaps "we've had a good time"?). Normally in English this is translated "We have had (passed, spent).... so I think you do not need to keep it in a "perfect" tense.

If you want to use the phrase in the imperfect: lo pasabamos en grande is fine or

If you want to use the phrase in the preterite: lo pasamos en grande is fine.

I think the other answers give you good advice. Chileno is a native speaker. I think using solíamos from soler is a good suggestion.

JulianChivi is also a native speaker. Note his phrasing in Spanish. - Jubilado, Oct 16, 2013

Answer 4

Despues de haberlo pasado bien, fuimos a pasear en el parque

Answer 5

Kiwi, sure it can be said with "we used to go".... but first I would like to know where is jmb123 from, no native language in his profile.

:) - rac1, Oct 16, 2013

Answer 6

Thanks for the quick reply. I should have made the context clearer- this is in reference to going to parties & then parks repeatedly over a period of time (hence the imperfect). I will change "a" for "en" though.

Please note my latest entry. - Jubilado, Oct 16, 2013

Answer 7

It sounds like you are talking about a recurring pattern so I have used the imperfect rather than the preterite.

Después de divertíamos en una fiesta, solíamos ir a un parque.

Answer 8

Note: I missed an important point in Spanish grammar. The only form of the verb that can be used after a preposition (después de is a two-word preposition) is the infinitive. So you cannot say Depués de lo pasamos en grande. I see the others just used the infinitive form. It is an important point for English speakers because we often place a gerund after prepositions and the gerund looks like the present participle (-ing) form of the verb. In Spanish, however, the "ing" form is not used after a preposition (nor other conjugated forms of the verb).

Answer 9

Ok, excellent.

I think this solves my problem.

Thankyou, Jubilado & everyone else for your replies.

Answer 10

I'm English.

I've seen the phrase "lo hemos pasado en grande" used to mean "we had a good time" & I'm trying to adjust that & use it here