The last post about imperfecto
Hello
I'm writing with a question. About.. the imperfect like the 100th time. But trust me, if it works, I'll know everything, realmente. I think I've found a perfect explanation. It's just what almost every Spanish book says, but showed in really simple way.
- Very often we can translate the past simple to the preterito indefinido, and the past continouos to the imperfecto. But it isn't the thing.
2.The thing is: indefinido is used when we talk about an finished, completed action. Imperfecto is used to "set the scene" in our story.
The rule is: Indefinido - when we can ask "What happened?" - I went to Mario, I read the book, I watched the film - What happened?
Imperfecto - when we can ask "How the things were?" - I was 14 years old, It was raining, I was ill, I was sad, etc. + something like "used to"
Is it correct? Thanks
1 Answer
I use a similar explanation: What happened for the preterite; What was happening for the imperfect. This stresses the continuity associated with the imperfect and covers all the imperfect uses. You may have to stretch English a bit to get there, eg. I was being 14 years old, but it does give a clear break from a concluded simple past event.
The only problem I have with your use of "How things were" is that it doesn't seem to necessarily provide this clear break from the preterite. I feel it potentially could be describing how things were at a specific time/event in the past that could be better represented by the simple past. A native speaker's input may help.
