Description in the past tense.

Question

I am curious; if one was describing a person in the past tense in spanish (e.g., John had brown hair and was very tall) would she use the preterite or imperfect'

Answer 1

Christopher is far more careful when it comes to general statements than I am, but imperfect is generally the main tense to use in your case, in Costa Rica, and practically everywhere else.

Answer 2

I think it should be imperfect tense. As I understand it, the imperfect refers to the "general" past and the preterite to a "more specific" past.

John fue alto ---|> John was "suddenly" tall

Of course I'm just thinking out loud, let's wait for other opinions.

Answer 3

Was the action completed in the past (simple past -pretériito perfecto simple)? Does John no longer have brown hair? Is he no longer tall? Use the preterite imperfect. (pretérito imperfecto)