There used to be... vs There was... Hi. As I have been learning the difference between imperfecto and indefinido, I have come to understand that imperfecto could be expressed as "used to " and indefinido as "-ed". So comer would be comia hongos (I used to eat mushrooms, imperfecto) or comi (I ate mushrooms, indefinido).
This description of habia vs hubo seems to be the opposite: habia (imperfecto) is what I would think of as "There used to be... ", whereas hubo (indefinido) would be "There was". So I would think it'd be something like this:
Habia muchos ninos en el parque - shouldn't this be like "There used to be a lot of kids at the park"? Definately a completed thing.
Hubo muchos ninos en el parque - shouldn't this be like "There were a lot of kids at the park"? Who knows if it's a completed thing.
But this lesson has it backwards, like "Habia" is - "There were..." and "Hubo" is "There used to be..."
So I'm confused. I'm understanding the completed actions vs incomplete actions, but this lesson feels backwards. Can you please help me understand where I have it wrong? I've read many of your responses, and I'm not understanding where I'm off.
Thanks.
Jeff
What is the difference between camarero and camarera
Why can't we add these lists to our notebook? That would be extremely helpful.
'Padre'= cool, great, nice.
¡Ese es otro adjetivo padre que no conocía hasta que hoy!
¡Gracias Silvia! :))
Feliz Pascua a ti y a todo el equipo.
"con todas las velas?" Right now it says "todas la velas"
Ellos no _la dejaban_______ pasar. They wouldn't let her through.
__________ mucho esta noche.
I answered: "He bebido"
I answered this because:
"The use of El Pretérito Perfecto in Latin America depends on regional variations but in general we can say it's restricted to actions started in the past that continue in the present or are not finished, or recent past actions the speaker wants to emphasise."
"I drank a lot tonight" seems like a recent past action...
What am I failing to understand here?
There's also this part:
"However, in general most Latin American Spanish speakers don't really observe this difference between El Pretérito Indefinido and El Pretérito Perfecto. Most of Latin America tends to just use El Pretérito Indefinido, while in the Andean region speakers tend to just use El Pretérito Perfecto."
So... I have two contradictory sets of information given to me... which one do I use?
Hi. As I have been learning the difference between imperfecto and indefinido, I have come to understand that imperfecto could be expressed as "used to " and indefinido as "-ed". So comer would be comia hongos (I used to eat mushrooms, imperfecto) or comi (I ate mushrooms, indefinido).
This description of habia vs hubo seems to be the opposite: habia (imperfecto) is what I would think of as "There used to be... ", whereas hubo (indefinido) would be "There was". So I would think it'd be something like this:
Habia muchos ninos en el parque - shouldn't this be like "There used to be a lot of kids at the park"? Definately a completed thing.
Hubo muchos ninos en el parque - shouldn't this be like "There were a lot of kids at the park"? Who knows if it's a completed thing.
But this lesson has it backwards, like "Habia" is - "There were..." and "Hubo" is "There used to be..."
So I'm confused. I'm understanding the completed actions vs incomplete actions, but this lesson feels backwards. Can you please help me understand where I have it wrong? I've read many of your responses, and I'm not understanding where I'm off.
Thanks.
Jeff
If the presence of “a” after a verb means it is “Ir” a not “ser”, Then why is “yo fui de fiesta an Ibiza” also conjugated “as ir?” The verb is not followed by “a”. Only the noun is followed by a. So why is it “I went,” and not “I was at”?
I find this very confusing. Does the rule apply to a and de alike ?
All the words are based on conserve rather than Conversar. Is this correct or am I missing something? Thank you very much!
Present tense
Subjunctiveyoconservo nosotrosconservamos yoconserve nosotrosconservemostúconservas vosotrosconserváis
túconserves vosotrosconservéisél conserva ellos conservan
él conserve ellos conserven
Find your Spanish level for FREE
And get your personalised Study Plan to improve it
Find your Spanish level