preterite...but why?
3
votes
From a translation of The Giving Tree: "Pero el tiempo pasó y el niño creció, y el árbol a menudo se quedaba solo." Why is the preterite used here? It seems an indefinite time in the past, an ongoing passing of time.
346 views
updated Aug 8, 2017
posted by RolloMartins
1 Answer
3
votes
I look at that translation and see it as, “But time passed and the child grew, and the tree was often by itself.” Although no time is specified, it is implied. The imperfect regarding the tree is so because it occurred during the time that the child grew. It was definite period of time in which he grew. It began and it ended. That’s what I get from the sentence.
updated Aug 7, 2017
edited by DonBigoteDeLaLancha
posted by DonBigoteDeLaLancha
:) - FELIZ77, Aug 6, 2017
But is not the imperfect used when there is no definite period of time in which something ends? - RolloMartins, Aug 6, 2017
No, this is not a fixed rule. The fact that the time period is over can be communicated by the use of the preterite, it need not be explicitly stated. - DilKen, Aug 7, 2017
You may be referring to a textbook lesson which is only an introduction to Spanish grammar. Spanish speakers are much more free to express their attitudes towards past events by using one tense or the other in real life. - DilKen, Aug 7, 2017
