Spanish language Q&A Forum

Considering estar can be used in the preterite and imperfect with the present participle ( gerund ), are they used in different ways?  Or do they mean the same thing?  For example, do: 

"Estuve corriendo" and "estaba corriendo" mean the same thing?  I was running.  Is one used more than the other for any reason? 

Please help me with “Me encanta tu casa”. I understand “Me gusta” as it pleases me.  However I have difficulty applying this to “It loves (encanta)  me your house”.  

es la "g" cpmpleamente silente en la palabra "guapo" o es un poco sonido de "g"?

The question given is: De los dos películas esa es la peor.

The multiple choice answers are

Out of those two films that one is very bad /  better / bad / worse.

Since película is à “feminine “ noun; Should the question not be De ESAS dos películas esa es la peor. Or perhaps De LAS  dos películas esa es la peor.

In "....ayuda a reducir los efectos...".  is the "a" required because ayudar always takes "a" before an infinitive?  If followed by a human or animal the "personal a" is also required, e.g. Ayudo a mi padre, but not if the object is inanimate. Is this correct?

I ask because in the recording for "Yo vivo en Córdoba" it's a "yo" sound. But for the "Yo vivo en el barrio de Gràcia" recording it's a soft j sound resulting in "jo".

When I practice at Duolingo I also sometimes here the y vs. j difference. Are both interchangeable in Spanish? If no, what are the rules for choosing j vs. y?

Or, is the recording audio simply not of good quality?

My understanding is that in Spanish, “un billón” represents a different quantity from “a billion”in English, and this should not be directly translated, but is rather the same as “mil millón.” 

Is my info wrong? Can there be regional variation?