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
how do you know when to add the "que" or is it interchangeable?
For "I was shaking", is "estaba temblando" a valid answer? If so, is there a difference between "estaba temblando" and "temblaba"? Is there a time where it's more appropriate to use one over the other? thanks in advance!
In the lesson segment discussing use of extra pronouns for emphasis, you show two examples of INCORRECT structure (e.g., "A nosotros gusta el cafe" and "A ellos gustan las manzanas", but do not show the correct structure. Would the CORRECT forms be "A nosotros nos gusta el cafe", and "A ellos les gustan las manzanas" (?). Thank you for clarifying. -Dan
"Le hemos explicado a ella el problema." Seems redundant. Is it a special case, or a constant rule?
When used as a compound adjective, as it is here, "last minute" requires a hyphen between "last" and "minute," thus: "last-minute." When it's inside a prepositional phrase, however, as in "he found offers at the last minute," no hyphen is necessary.
Hi, I also have a similar doubt. We are using sere in first example ( When I am older, I will be a doctor) i.e simple future but we are using vayan (subjunctive) in this statement: Tendrán mucho frío cuando vayan a Escocia el próximo diciembre.
Why are we using vayan instead of iran (simple future) here like in first example?
Please help thank you!
Hola! Would it be possible to have examples with each word? I find it difficult to contextualise without a sentence. Gracias!
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
Why is costar used without a pronoun to express something people in general find difficult, while other words DO use a pronoun to express general things, as explained in the "The impersonal se in Spanish" lesson?
Lesson - The impersonal se in Spanish:
Expressing instructions and general statements in Spanish with the impersonal se = one
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