#estuve

[sublimeloverfan]

Prometió que me arreglaría y me dejó aún más destrozada de lo que nunca estuve.

[comer-rezary-amar]

¿Dónde estuve en los momentos que más me necesité?

— comer-rezary-amar

[bethatcat1322]

Estuve leyendo tus viejos mensajes, y me encabroné de nuevo porque eres un maldito mentiroso.

[adammontes]

Hago todo improvisando sobre la marcha, tal vez por eso nada me sale como había planeado, si tan solo lo hubiera hecho.

AdamMontes

[ourspanishblog]

¡Buenos días!/¡Buenas noshes! (No sé cómo está el tiempo en México) Yo tengo problema con la diferencia entre el Pretérito Indefinido, el Pretérito Imperfecto y el Pretérito Perfecto. ¿Puede explicar me? ¡Muchas gracias para la atención!✨

¡Hola, lovely-lo!

Sure, let’s see one by one and the differences:

Used for:

finished actions (focus on the action)

period of time, exact time

consecutive actions in the past

interrupting actions

Examples:

Anoche dormí muy bien. (Last night I slept really good).**This action is completely finished.

Terminé mi tarea a las 7:00. (I finished my homework at 7:00)**Completely finished + exact time.

Viví en la ciudad por 10 años. (I lived in the city for 10 years)**Finished action + period of time.

Mi amiga estudió en España. (My friend studied in Spain)**She finished studying.

Él trabajó en esa empresa desde 1990 hasta el 2015. (He worked in that company from 1990 until 2015.**Finished action + exact period of time

Ayer me bañé, me vestí y salí con mis amigos. (Yesterday I took a shower, I got dressed and I went out with my friends).**Consecutive actions in the past.

La semana pasada fui a la playa con mi familia, nadamos, comimos mariscos y nos divertimos mucho. (Last week I went to the beach with my family, we swam, we ate seafood and we had fun). **Consecutive actions in the past. (For “nosotros”, the present and the past conjugations are the same).

Ayer me desperté a las 8:00, pero me levanté hasta las 9:00. (Yesterday I woke up at 8:00, but I got up until 9:00).**Consecutive actions in the past + exact time.

✴ interrupting actions with pretérito imperfecto. ⇊

Used for:

past habits, skills

finished actions (focus on time)

describing people, animals or places in the past

time with past habits

unfinished actions

Examples:

Cuando era niña me gustaba pintar. (When I was a kid I liked to paint).**Describing the person + past habit.

Antes podía correr muy rápido, pero ahora ya no. (I used to run very fast, but not anymore).**Past skill.

Mi abuela era una mujer muy guapa. (My grandmother was a very beautiful woman).**Describing a person.

El parque estaba muy limpio, hacía buen tiempo y habían muchos animales pequeños que comían frutas de los árboles. (The park was very clean, the weather was good and there were many small animals that were eating fruits from the trees).**Describing a place, weather, animals.

We can also use [imperfecto] + [period of time] if we are talking about past habits.

Iba a la escuela de lunes a viernes. (I used to go to school from Monday to Friday)**Past habit + period of time

Antes practicaba 3 horas al día. (I used to practice 3 hours a day)**Past habit + exact time

Visitaba a mis abuelos todos los veranos. (I used to visit my grandparents every Summer).**Past habit + time/season

NO:

Vivía en la ciudad por 10 años. (X)

Él trabajaba en esa empresa desde 1990 hasta el 2015. (X)

Unfinished actions: [pretérito imperfecto] + [pretérito indefinido]

We use the pretérito imperfecto to talk about the unfinished action.We use the pretérito indefinido to talk about the action that interrupted the first one.

Estaba caminando por la calle cuando comenzó a llover. (I was walking down the street when it started to rain)estaba: imperfectocomenzó: indefinido

Estaba viendo una película pero me quedé dormido. (I was watching a movie but I fell asleep)estaba: imperfectome quedé: indefinido **quedarse dormido: to fall asleep

Antes trabajaba en esa tienda pero encontré un trabajo mejor. (I used to work in that store but I found a better job).trabajaba: imperfectoencontré: indefinido

Antes sabía muchas palabras en español pero ya olvidé muchas. (I used to know many words in Spanish but I forgot many of them).sabía: imperfectoolvidé: indefinido

[pretérito indefinido] + [pretérito imperfecto]

Past action + describing in the past

Fui a tu casa pero no estabas. (I went to your house but you were not there)

Fui al banco pero estaba cerrado. (I went to the bank but it was closed).

Compré esta bolsa cuando estaba en oferta. (I bought this bag when it was on sale).

Llegué temprano pero no había nadie. (I arrived early but there was nobody there).

pretérito indefinido =  (focus on the action)pretérito imperfecto = (focus on time)

¿Qué hiciste? - What did you do? (focus on the action)

¿Qué hacías? - What did you do? (focus on time)

Another way to translate these questions:

¿Qué hiciste? - What have you done?

¿Qué hacías? - What were you doing?*The first question focus on what you did, and the second one focus on how you spent your time.

Vi una película. - I watched a movie. (focus on the action)

Veía una película. - I watched a movie (focus on time)*The second sentence can be translate as “I was watching a movie”

estuve vs. estaba (estar)

Estuve and estaba can be interchangeable many times, for example:

Él estuvo trabajando. - He was working (focus on the action)Él estaba trabajando. -  He was working (focus on time)These two sentences have almost the same meaning. “Estuve trabajando” emphasizes what he was doing, and “estaba trabajando” emphasizes how he was spending his time.

Estuve muy ocupada. - I was very busy. (focus on the adjective “ocupada”)Estaba muy ocupada. - I was very busy (focus on time)These two sentences are also very similar. But “estuve muy ocupada” emphasizes the fact of being busy and “estaba muy ocupada” emphasizes the time when she was busy.

Most of the times people don’t see these subtle differences, so both sentences can be synonyms.

Just as one of our previous rules, we don’t use the imperfecto with exact time.

fue vs. era (ser)

This follows the same logic:

fue, pretérito indefinido =  (focus on the person)era, pretérito imperfecto = (focus on time)

Whenever we read a biography of someone, we always see “fue” because the important thing is their profession. For example:

Octavio Paz fue un escritor. - Octavio Paz was a writer.

Marie Curie fue una científica. - Marie Curie was a scientist.

Galileo Galilei fue un astrónomo. - Galileo Galilei was an astronomer.

If we use “era” the sentence is correct, but it feels like it is minimizing the importance of their job.

But we can use “era” when the important thing is how people spent their time. For example:

Cuando Octavio Paz era niño vivía en los Estados Unidos. - When Octavio Paz was a child he lived in the United States.

Marie Curie trabajaba con su esposo. - Marie Curie worked with her husband.

Galileo Galilei tenía muchos enemigos. - Galileo Galilei had many enemies.

Used for:

Recent past (finished actions) connected to the present.

Experiences.

Examples:

He comprado un carro nuevo. - I’ve bought a new car. (I bought a car recently and is still there).

He estudiado todas mis notas. - I’ve studied all my notes. (I studied all my notes that I have until now).

Él ha tenido tiempo suficiente para pensar. - He has had enough time to think. (until now)

Mi amiga me ha dado un regalo. - My friend has given me a present. (and I still have it here).

Hemos tenido un buen fin de semana. - We have had a nice weekend. (until now, until the last second).

He viajado a Perú muchas veces. - I’ve traveled to Perú many times.

He estado en Bolivia sólo una vez. - I’ve been to Bolivia just once.

Ella ha nadado con delfines. - She has swum with dolphins.

Él nunca ha bebido alcohol en su vida. - He has never drunk alcohol in his life.

¿Has visto esta película? - Have you seen this movie?

¿Has tocado a un elefante? - Have you touched an elephant?

¿Alguna vez has pensado en casarte? - Have you ever thought about getting married?

[pretérito perfecto] + [time]

He estado trabajando todo el día. - I’ve been working all day.

He estado estudiando 2 horas al día. - I’ve been studying 2 hours a day.

He estado leyendo libros en español desde hace tres meses. - I’ve been reading books in Spanish since 3 months ago. 

I think that’s all. I tried to cover everything I could, but if you still have questions feel free to ask me again. :) I hope this was useful!

[solo-un-beso-tuyo]

Estuve, ya no estaré.

— EFR

[letrasdeunaloca]

Contigo estuve equivocada….

Lo leí por ahí…

[esaudetusonrisa]

Pregunta a los amigos que saben lo que sentí y ellos solo dicen que yo estuve en otra nube

Pseudónimo con Sharif - Ya es tarde