Preterite vs. Imperfect: Perspective over Grammar Rules?

Question

Can one's perspective sometimes dominate over grammar rules when it comes to using the Preterite vs. Imperfect?

For example, in English it is possible for Person B in the following conversation to say their response in either the Preterite or Imperfect.

Person A: Eric wasn't in class today. Person B: Eric? I just spoke with him yesterday. OR I was just talking to him yesterday.

Since this is possible in English, is it also possible in Spanish? For example...

Persona A: Enrique no estuvo en clase hoy. Persona B: ¿Enrique? Hablé con él ayer. O Estaba hablando con él ayer.

Also, isn't it possible that even Persona A could say "Enrique no estaba en clase hoy"?

Answer 1

I was talking is either translated to hablaba o estaba hablando. But bear in mind that the imperfect form is being used to talk about the continuity of the action despite being completed or not, whereas the simple past form focus on the completed action in the past whose goal is not concentrating on how long did action last.

So either of those are correct.
If your goal is to talk about the continuity of the action, use the imperfect form; use the past simple form otherwise.

Answer 2

The "I was just talking to him form is not heard much in Spanish. I suppose you could use that, but It would sound a little strange. I would normally just use the preterite in both cases. However it could be used in certain situations as will be illustrated below.

Also I, in most cases, wouldn't use the "con él" although it is not grammatically wrong. I prefer "Yo le hablé ayer."

The imperfect is used more for description, repeated action over a period of time, and to express the "used to" and/or the past "would" It is also used to tell time in the past.

There are several verbs which change meaning when used in the two different tenses.

You could use the imperfect to set the stage, then follow up with a preterite action.

Yo estaba hablando con él ayer cuando de repente sonó el timbre para la clase.

I was talking with him yesterday when suddenly the bell rang for class.

Can you give me examples of when it would be used to express "would" in the past? I don't think I'm familiar with this use. - salkhanfar, Dec 5, 2016

"would" and "used to" are only used to imply repetitive actions in the past. - Oshnaj, Dec 5, 2016