Presente va pretérito

Gertrud W.B2Kwiziq community member

Presente va pretérito

La vendimia comienza en el antiguo Egipto. Por qué no el pretérito comenzó?

Asked 2 years ago
InmaNative Spanish expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer

Hola Gertrud

This action is indeed referring to the past but we sometimes use the present tense to refer to a past action in order to bring the action closer to the listener. This is called "el presente histórico". I believe this same technique is used in English in literature and when narrating historical events for example. 

Using the preterite is obviously correct too. 

We have a Kwiziq lesson on this. Have a look here.

I hope this clarified it.

Saludos

Inma

Presente va pretérito

La vendimia comienza en el antiguo Egipto. Por qué no el pretérito comenzó?

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