Help with "when I was ill"

Question

Would I use the imperfect
Cuando estaba mal me quedé en casa
or preterite
Cuando estuve mal me quedé en casa?

I am used to french where this would definitely be imprerfect.
Thanks.

Answer 1

Thanks. That makes it clearer.

Answer 2

The first one sounds incorrect, unless you provide extra context to make sense out of it. It should be "Cuando estaba mal, me quedaba en casa". The second is correct, but not equivalent. The first one would be "Every time I was bad, I stayed at home". The second one is "When I was bad (in a particular ocsasion), I stayed at home".