imperfect vs preterit
Hi everyone, I have been trying to get a grasp of the spanish imperfect and preterit (as any other spanish student I am sure :)
I have written some sentences, and added the context. Can someone correct them for me ? :)

1. if I am telling a story, and I start by saying "they lived there, and I lived here..." I would go with the imperfect:

Vivían allí, y vivía aqui.

2. If I am instead saying "they lived there two months", then I would use the preterit:

"Vivieron allí durante dos meses"

3. and if I write "they forgot the keys", then its preterit, I think, because its a one-time event:

"olvidaron los llaves"

4. but if I instead want to write "they used to forget the keys everyday", the I would write:

"olvidaban los llaves todos los días"

I hope I have not made too many mistakes, feel free to correct me! :)

Question

imperfect vs preterit
Hi everyone, I have been trying to get a grasp of the spanish imperfect and preterit (as any other spanish student I am sure :) 
I have written some sentences, and added the context. Can someone correct them for me ? :)

1. if I am telling a story,  and I start by saying "they lived there, and I lived here..." I would go with the imperfect:

Vivían allí, y vivía aqui.

2. If I am instead saying "they lived there two months", then I would use the preterit:

"Vivieron allí durante dos meses"

3. and if I write "they forgot the keys", then its preterit, I think, because its a one-time event:

"olvidaron los llaves"

4. but if I instead want to write "they used to forget the keys everyday", the I would write:

"olvidaban los llaves todos los días"

I hope I have not made too many mistakes, feel free to correct me! :)

Answer

A little mistake: "las" llaves. The verb tenses are perfect. Saludos.

Answer

Hi, Emelie! I think you should place this in a notebook. 
1. I would say "ellos vivían allí y yo vivía aquí".
2. Perfect.
3. I would say "se olvidaron las llaves". Remember, "llaves" is feminine. 
4. "Se olvidaban las llaves". 
You shall use "se" with "olvidar" here. If you have any other doubt, do not hesitate to contact me.
Best regards, 
Carmen.

Answer

1. if I am telling a story, and I start by saying "they lived there, and I lived here..." I would go with the imperfect:

Vivían allí, y 'yo' vivía aquí. (Better to keep the pronoun)

2. If I am instead saying "they lived there two months", then I would use the preterit:

"Vivieron allí durante dos meses"

3. and if I write "they forgot the keys", then its preterit, I think, because its a one-time event:

"olvidaron 'las' llaves" (feminine and plural)

4. but if I instead want to write "they used to forget the keys everyday", the I would write:

"olvidaban 'las' llaves todos los días"

*'Use to' is often translated to the verb 'Soler' : 'Solían olvidarse las llaves todos los días'

Very good practice, not many mistakes, keep it up!
Saludos

Answer

pretérito imperfecto: "vivían", "olvidaban"  (pretérito=past event; imperfecto="open action, denotes duration, not limited in strict time bounderies)
pretérito perfecto simple/pretérito indefinido: "vivieron", "olvidaron" (pretérito=past event; perfecto="closed action" at a specific time)

So:
- "vivían allí" - imperfecto, because the action is left open, as if it was in progress. It opposes to the present simple "viven allí". Same explanation applies for the clause "olvidaban las llaves todos los días".
- "vivieron allí durante dos meses" - perfecto simple, because the action is finished and pinpointed at a specific time "within those two months". Same explanation applies for the clause "olvidon las llaves".

*llave, la llave, las llaves (feminin)

Answers · 4

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