Estuvo/estaba?
Hello!
Can someone tell me which sentence is correct and explain why?
Un dia, su padre estuvo enfermo.
Un dia, su padre estaba enfermo.
1 Answer
Un día, su padre estaba enfermo - one day, his father was sick.
El pretorito (estuvo) is used for actions considered completed, actions that have definite beginning and end points. These can be actions that can be viewed as single events, actions that were part of a chain of events, actions that were repeated a very specific number of times, or actions that specifically state the beginning and end of an action.
El imperfecto (estaba) can be used for actions that were repeated habitually, actions that set the stage for another past tense event, for time and dates in the past, for telling a person’s age in the past, to describe people (characteristics) in the past, and to communicate mental or physical states in the past
