Ch 9 · Lesson 20Spanish · Chapter 9 · Lesson 20 · Grammar primer
Ayer, siempre and the four ways to say was
Trigger words are hints, not laws; , , and ; and a short story with every verb explained.
The short version
Trigger words are hints, not laws
.
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and towards the preterite; and towards the imperfect. The meaning still decides: a whole life that is over takes the preterite, even with . Use the trigger word as a first guess, then ask whether the verb is an event or the scene.
Trigger words: hints, not laws
Some time words lean hard towards one tense:
| Preterite | English | Imperfect | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| yesterday | | always |
| last night | | every day |
| last week | | often |
| two years ago | | sometimes |
| suddenly | | while |
| once | | as a child |
| three times | | normally |
The tense still follows the meaning, and a closed view of the action overrules any marker:
| Why | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| a whole life, over | . | My grandfather was always generous. |
| the stay as a block | Madrid, Prado. | While I was in Madrid, I visited the Prado. |
| counted, in one day | . | On Monday I went to the doctor three times. |
| the rain is scene | . | It was raining yesterday when I went out. |
Was: fue, era, estuvo or estaba
English "was" is four Spanish words. Choose or first (ser vs estar), then the tense:
| Form | Example | English |
|---|---|---|
. | The party was great. (a verdict) | |
. | The house was big. (description) | |
. | He was ill for three days. | |
. | He was ill when you called. |
Ser and estar beyond the basics has both verbs in every past form.
A story, verb by verb
Every verb here is the same choice, made sixteen times in eleven lines:
| Job | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| the scene | . | It was a Saturday in July and it was hot. |
| in progress | . | My sister was reading and I was asleep. |
| the event | , . | Suddenly, a dog ran towards us. |
| an event | . | It ran off with my towel. |
| a chain | . | I got up and ran after it. |
| description | . | The dog was very fast. |
| an event | . | In the end it stopped outside a bar. |
| the scene | , . | Its owner was there, eating an ice cream. |
| an event | . | He gave me my towel back. |
| event, time | , . | When we got home, it was already eight. |
| a verdict | , . | It was a strange day, but great fun. |
The imperfects set the scene and come back wherever the story stops to look around. The preterites are the plot. Delete every imperfect and you still have a story; delete every preterite and you have a lovely description in which nothing happens.
Flip one verb and the story changes:
.- My sister was reading. (the scene).- My sister read a book, start to finish. (an event in the plot)
Going further: The preterite vs imperfect chart and the rest of the guide, when you want them. This lesson does not need them.
Practice
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One question at a time, mixed across the exercises in this lesson. Miss one and it comes back round before the end.
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