Preterite meaning change for 'tener', 'saber', and 'conocer'?
I had a Spanish teacher once tell me that in the Preterite Tense 'tener' means 'got', 'saber' means 'found out', and 'conocer' means 'met'.
For example: "I got new shoes yesterday" would be "Ayer tuve zapatos nuevos." Is this correct? Couldn't 'tener' in the preterite still mean 'had' in some situations? For example: "I had it for about five minutes" would be "Lo tuve por cinco minutos"?
So my question is: Can 'tener' mean 'got' or 'had' depending on the situation? Can 'saber' mean 'found out' or 'knew' depending on the situation? Can 'conocer' mean 'met' or 'knew' depending on the situation?
Examples:
Saber: "I found out about the accident this morning." = "Supe del accidente esta mañana." or "I knew in that moment that all was lost." = "Supe en ese momento que todo fue perdido."
Conocer "I met her yesterday." = "La conocí ayer." or "I knew her well in third grade." = "La conocí en el tercer grado."
Are the above examples correct? I know that normally when you say you 'had' or 'knew' something in the past that you would use the imperfect tense, but in these examples there is a definite and measurable point in time stated, so wouldn't the preterite be used?
1 Answer
Your examples of saber are correct.
Your first example of conocer is correct, but the second should be conocía - otherwise it would mean: I met her in the third grade.
"I got new shoes yesterday" would be "Ayer tuve zapatos nuevos."
This is not correct.
"I had it for about five minutes" would be "Lo tuve por cinco minutos"?
This is correct.
