Estaba/estuve hablando

Question

Hace poco, estaba hablando con Dillon en su bar y le pregunté...

El otro día, estuve hablando con Dillon en su local y le pregunté...

These two phrases are from two different translations of 'The Friends of Eddie Coyle' in Spanish and, frankly, I'm not sure what's the difference between "estaba" and "estuve" in this case. The only thing I can think of is, maybe:

"estaba hablando" - 'regular' past progressive, "I was talking"

"estuve hablando" - something like "I got talking" with the idea that the talking started and then went on. But I might be totally wrong about this.

Answer 1

Nah...I always translate estuve or estaba as "was"

In this particular case both refer to the same thing. Something that occurred in the past with no other meaning.

Now consider this:

Hace poco, estaba hablando con Dillon en su bar y le preguntaba...

El otro día, estuve hablando con Dillon en su local y le pregunté...

Would that help?

The difference between preguntaba and pregunté is very clear, yes. Is it down to personal preference whether to use estaba or estuve -ndo in these circumstances? - Manity, Apr 29, 2015

I would say yes, unless there is something in mind that I am not taking into consideration. That's why context is so important, and in this case all we can do is guess. - chileno, Apr 29, 2015

Agreed, context is key. Many thanks! :) - Manity, Apr 29, 2015

Answer 2

Both are correct.

Thanks, Luis. :) - Manity, Apr 29, 2015

Answer 3

need more context, but both are correct