Spanish language Q&A Forum

I was always told that he, has, ha were present perfect and hube, hubiste, hubo were preterite perfect. I find terminology differs from course to course - is there a standard reference that explains the conventions on naming tenses?

Darrell

This same issue was asked 5 years ago, and a  new specific lesson would be helpful. (more than the current article on neutral lo)

Here is what I asked ChatGPT

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tell me more about the use of "lo" in  "lo suficiente"  and "lo habitual", with grammar explanation and more examples of both

ChatGPT said:

The word "lo" in phrases like "lo suficiente" and "lo habitual" serves as a neutral article that turns adjectives, adverbs, or phrases into abstract nouns. This structure is often used to express qualities or degrees of something in a general, impersonal way.

Explanation of "lo" in these phrases:

Lo suficiente: Here, "lo" makes the adjective "suficiente" (sufficient) into a concept or a general idea. Instead of referring to something specific, "lo suficiente" means "enough" in a more abstract way, as in "the sufficient amount."

Example: No hemos hecho lo suficiente para resolver el problema.

(We haven't done enough to solve the problem.)

Lo habitual: Similarly, "lo" turns the adjective "habitual" (usual) into an abstract noun, referring to "what is usual" or "the usual thing."

Example: Llegó tarde, como lo habitual.

(He arrived late, as usual.)

I am a little confused with terminology. Are Preterite Indefinido and Preterite Perfecto the same thing? As others have highlighted, I am confused with the past perfect and preterite perfect. 

Using esquiar as an example: I skied = Yo esquié; I have skied =  He esquiado; I used to ski = Yo esquiaba; I have been skiing = Yo estaba esquiado. Am I wrong with these examples?

A cerca de: "Muy de and mucho de are interchangeable."

¿Tienen sentido las oraciones:

"Lamentablemente, soy mucho de levantarme temprano, aunque no soy muy de levantarme temprano."

y

"Lamentablemente, soy muy de levantarme temprano, aunque no soy mucho de levantarme temprano."?

En la primera me veo obligado a hacer algo, en la segunda a no lo hacer.

Hi,

What is the difference in meaning between using the imperative tense as in "Los jubilados acababan de ..." and the present tense as in "Ustedes acaban de ..."?

Thanks.

Saludos,

Colin

ning

here it says ¨Nosotros no deberíamos haberlo escuchado.¨ Should it be  Nosotros no deberíamos haberle escuchado? Le instead of Lo?

Is there a specific quiz related to this topic that I can practice? How do I access that?

The speaker said dió rather than dio. 

Just a tad confusing although it probably happens in everyday speech.

I'm afraid I have to join the others on this one. This is has got to be the hardest concept I have encountered so far. I'm glad that you mentioned that if you use "nunca" or "siempre" then the verb would be in the simple past. However, that is where my understanding stops. I tried thinking about whether one is recent past (perfecto) and one is more distant but still somewhat recent (indefinido), but that is confusing and probably not correct. Thank you also for stating that this is something that is different across all the different countries. I will just keep trying and hope that something sticks at some point.