Why is this preterite? (estar in imperfect or preterite exercise)

Question

Our teacher translated: They were not in class because they missed the bus as estuvieron. However, most of us translated this as estaban. Can someone explain why preterite is indicated in this case. My teacher is a native Spanish speaker so I am sure she is correct.

Thanks for your comments, however I am still confused on this issue. In a different but similar example if the sentence were: He was not dead because he received a blood transfusion. He was alive. How would those two sentences be translated? - polka7532, Aug 16, 2014

Answer 1

Your teacher was using the preterite because in this sentence there is no need to express "was" as an imperfect past. This is not like saying "They were in class this morning" implying an ongoing action in the past while something else happened. Just think of it as simple past: They weren't in class (no estuvieron). They missed the bus.

Because this verb in English "were, was" is rarely used in the imperfect "were/was being" in English there is almost always some confusion about whether to use the preterite or imperfect.

Answer 2

Although most of us, natives, will not "think" and say "estaban", estuvieron is the correct answer. Let's see if i can help you in English.

They were not in class because they missed the bus = estuvieron

They were not in class because they were at the bus stop = estaban

Can you discern why?

Yes, I can! - Jubilado, Aug 12, 2014

Good example! - rodneyp, Aug 12, 2014

Estuvieron is used because in this context it is referring to an action that was completed at some time in the past and only happened once. : They missed the bus (once) - FELIZ77, Aug 12, 2014

Whereas the imperfect estaban is used because it refers to something that happened for an undefined period of time - FELIZ77, Aug 12, 2014

Answer 3

Grammatically speaking, estuvieron is going to be the correct choice. In real life either one would work. Well, depending on the sentence. If you have it could you please post it?

My teacher is a native Spanish speaker so I am sure she is correct.

You'll find that as you start actually talking to Spanish speakers from different places what's "right" can often be very subjective. I have seen Spanish speakers with differing opinions on what is "right" on numerous occasions, both in real life and in other online forums like this one.

It's not unusual for correctness to be based on the practices of a particular country and/or region of that country.

I try never to doubt native speakers, but I have learned that some of the language rules are open to interpretation and aren't quite as rigid as we're led to believe.

To prove your point in English: "Ain't dat de troot" (ouch!), but seriously you make a very good point. - Jubilado, Aug 12, 2014

Answer 4

You may find it helpful to consider time from two perspectives when you're deciding between the preterite and the imperfect in Spanish.

You can do this by picturing the imperfect as a flowing, wavy line of time and the preterite as dots or points along that time.

If you're referring to a specific point in time or period of time (completed in the past) and that's the focus, then use the preterite (a dot) ...

For your example ... they weren't in class (the time is the most important thing here, they werent there at the particular time that they should have been, and they weren't there for that whole completed time / preterite)

But if you want to take your listeners back with you into the past, as if they were observing of a part of the action that was developing or happening at that time, or if you just want to set a background for another event then use the imperfect.

Perhaps this lesson and this free ebook will help.

It is tricky as sometimes both will work depending on the perspective that you want to give