Spanish language Q&A Forum

Noté que  el Día del Padre se escribe con mayúsculas en la escritura pero aquí no.

¡Hola, Inma!

En un intento de utilizarte como última opción, me he puesto en contacto con mi primo en Chile y mi amigo en Guatemala, pero ni siquiera pueden responder a mi pregunta, así que contaré con tu ayuda. 

Re: To arrange a date / to meet

The construction of He + Quedado + Con makes perfect when making simple two party statements, but what I cannot figure out is how to keep the same He + Quedado + Con structure when adding another party.

Example: 

I have arranged to meet the plumber at 4 PM = He quedado con el fontanero a las 4.

But... How do I keep the same structure and say, "I have arranged for US to meet the plumber at 4."?

Todas mis amigas españolas me dicen que no es posible con esta estructura de la oración, pero no lo creo.

Gracias, Pato Quique

1) Why is imperfecto used: Pues que me apetecía .  She was feeling like at the moment, not an ongoing  feeling no?

2) y entre ellos había una pareja de jóvenes.. Why is the imperfecto used in this aspect?  The couple were only there AT that time, it's NOT a habitual or repetitive action that they are there every time shes at the beach? 

3) ¡No me lo podía creer! , why use the imperfecto here?

4) Después me di cuenta de que en ese grupo había un hombre haciendo fotos y un chico con un foco. Entonces comprendí que los jóvenes eran modelos y estaban trabajando en una sesión de fotos    The imperfecto used is because it's sequential? 

5) Estoy segura de que estaban muertos de frío.   The models were ONLY cold at that moment, why not "estuvieron muertos de trio"

6) . El solo llevaba un bañador y ella un bikini.   Why not just "Llevaron" they don't wear a bikini or beach short every time they go to the beach?  Only at that moment for the photo shoot?

Thank You in advance !

Using El Pretérito Imerfecto in the Gabriel example above seems incorrect/confusing to me, also. Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the imperfect here indicate a general inability to do something, like Gabriel just didn't know how to put the key in the keyhole (incidentally, the sentence should read "key in the keyhole", "keyS in the keyholeS", or "key in the keyholeS" if a single key fits two locks), which seems highly unlikely? It seems to me that El Pretérito Indefinido is more appropriate because: Gabriel didn't manage/succeed in putting the key in the keyhole, and we are referring to a specific moment in the past and the time when it happened is relevant.

For the sentence "mientras vosotros ________ el postre, yo hice el café", why is "estuvisteis comiendo" incorrect?  The lesson seems to suggest that it should be correct.

For example, the lesson says this:  When the ongoing past action is inside a completed timeframe in the past. See how all examples above contain a time phrase: "toda la noche", "de 6 a 7 de la tarde", "el sábado pasado".  In the quiz question, the completed timeframe is "while you were having dessert".  Isn't that a similar time frame to "toda la noche"?

Also, the lesson says this:  We don't know when the "eating" started, but the end is expressed with "hasta que acabamos con  toda la comida". This may sound as if that is an interrupting action and may lead you to wrongly think you need to use El Imperfecto Progresivo [estaba+present participle].  Likewise, in the quiz question, we know that "having dessert" has a beginning and an end, although we don't know exactly when.

Gracias!

This article is extremely confusing. One of your examples is   Voy a salir aunque llueva and you use the subjunctive in the next example—llueve but your translation is the same!?  Aunque + subjunctive seems like it should be translated as even if, implying either they don’t know if it is raining or they are talking about a time in the future.  Aunque + indicative translates as even though and implies a known fact.  I am going out in spite of knowing that it is raining. The talk about shared or background information is something I have never heard before