contrast.preterite-imperfect
Preterite vs imperfect: event vs background
Preterite advances the story (llegué, vi, firmé); imperfect paints the scene (llovía, era tarde, había gente). Some verbs change translation: supe/sabía, pude/podía, quise/quería.
contrastB1v0.1.0
Explication
Ask: did it happen as a bounded event (preterite) or was it ongoing/habitual/descriptive (imperfect)? Mientras leía (background), sonó el teléfono (event).
Meaning-shifting verbs: sabía = knew / supe = found out; conocía = knew (person) / conocí = met; podía = was able / pude = managed; quería = wanted / quise = tried, no quise = refused; tenía = had / tuve = got, received.
Exemples
Vivíamos en Montreal cuando nació mi hija.
We were living in Montreal when my daughter was born.
We were living in Montreal when my daughter was born.
Région: global
No quise firmar sin leerlo.
I refused to sign without reading it.
I refused to sign without reading it.
Région: global