Difference between Preterito Indefinido and Imperfecto

Question

One of my Flashcards says this:

"He came, when i left" - venía cuando me fui (original German is "Er kam, als ich ging")

I don't understand why you would use Indefinido first, and then Imperfecto?! That doesn't make any sense, can someone explain ? Or are those Flashcards just incorrect?

I found a Source explaining the difference between both Tenses (http://www.learn-spanish-online.de/grammar/chapter7_compound_tenses/7_4_use_perfecto_indefinido_imperfecto.htm)

1. There are two actions in the past that happen at the same time.

We have two actions here, so you would use the Imperfecto only on the first verb? Is that the Rule or? Someone explain

Please fill out your profile so that we may better help you . Bienvenido al fora , buena suerte amiga. - ray76, Jan 7, 2015

Nothing wrong with your translation, Claudia. - annierats, Jan 7, 2015

Answer 1

I'm a learner too, so please wait for a native speaker to confirm, but this sounds odd/clumsy to me. Perhaps your flashcard is incorrect.

'He came when I left', really means, 'he came/arrived as I was leaving'.

There are many ways to express this in Spanish, but I would say something like:

Él vino/llegó cuando yo iba saliendo = He came/arrived as I was leaving.

The english was MY own translation... - ClaudioFirenze, Jan 7, 2015

Those are GERMAN Flashcards, the text in German is the original.. - ClaudioFirenze, Jan 7, 2015

oh I see. Perhaps then....venía cuando ya me fui / cuando ya me había ido......He used to arrive when I'd left. - billygoat, Jan 7, 2015

The German says: He came, as I went/left ( I don't speak much German, I deduct this from being almost exactly the same in Swedish). - annierats, Jan 7, 2015

Billy, "me fui" is in the preterite--it cannot be rendered as "I was leaving" - Daniela2041, Jan 7, 2015

Hi Daniela. Yes, me fui = I left. I was referring to the English. - billygoat, Jan 7, 2015

Thanks for your responses guys. I know both verbs are in the preterite one is indefinito one being Imperfecto. I'm confused because in German, both tenses would be preterito indefinido... i dont understand the difference between those 2 tenses - ClaudioFirenze, Jan 11, 2015

Answer 2

Hesitant suggestion: his arrival is less important to the speaker and seen as a' back-ground ' happening???

Answer 3

Venía cuando me fui.

My take on this is :

He/she/somebody was coming, when/as I left. The subject is not mentioned so I suppiled several that would go with "venía".