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5
votes
2answers
87 views

¿Es válido decir “eso pasó ahorita”?

En Medellín (Colombia) se dice mucho "eso pasó ahorita", pero parecería ser que "ahora" o "ahorita" es más de futuro. Ejemplo: Ellos vienen ahora. o Ellos llegaron ahorita. No suena bien. ...
3
votes
2answers
85 views

“Something happened” while “something else was going on”

¿Cuál es correcto? No ví nada mientras estaba corriendo. o No ví nada mientras corrí. ¿Ambos son incorrectos? Lo siento por el título.
4
votes
3answers
127 views

What am I doing when I use the subjunctive?

If we limit our view to the present tense, how can I fill in the blanks succinctly? When I use the indicative mood, I am indicating that something happens. When I use the subjunctive mood, ...
2
votes
1answer
108 views

Should I use preterit or imperfect to express something that used to happen repeatedly?

For example, if I wanted to say "They used to travel every day", which would I use: Ellos viajaron cada día. Ellos viajaban cada día.
3
votes
2answers
182 views

What is the difference between parece and pareciera?

What is the difference between parece que and pareciera que? How are both normally translated? What tenses can be used after pareciera que, and in general how is pareciera used?
2
votes
1answer
91 views

Translating “wait until” or “wait for”

How do you translate phrases involving wait until or wait for: Wait until I call you before you leave for the restaurant. Wait for me to come home before you buy the tickets. You should ...
2
votes
2answers
279 views

Spanish names for preterite and imperfect tenses

In school, I learned that the Spanish past tenses were called preterite and imperfect in English, and preterito and imperfecto in Spanish. However, in talking to native speakers I've run across other ...
7
votes
1answer
443 views

“Te va (a) encantar” - is “a” necessary?

Is the "a" necessary when using "ir a" to convey future meaning? Google gives 17m results for "te va a encantar" but also 1.5m for "te va encantar". Does this rule vary according to formality?
5
votes
3answers
201 views

What is the imperative without pronoun of 'Saber'? Why?

Okay so I suddenly have no idea how to say the imperative of saber. This was my reasoning until arriving to a comical dead end: Ir = Ve Comer = Come Ser = Sé Saber = Se? Sabé? ...
1
vote
1answer
379 views

Translating “how is …?” and “how was …?”

What are the options for translating the phrase "how is" or "how was," as in: How's the steak? How is your day so far? How is the traffic today? and How was your vacation? How was the meeting? ...
9
votes
3answers
267 views

“De donde fue” instead of “De donde estaba”

In Nicaragua, addresses are usually given as directions from a landmark, for example: From the stadium, go 5 blocks south, then 3 blocks east Sometimes the landmark is a place that used to be ...
8
votes
3answers
389 views

Words that mean different things in the preterite

There are some verbs that seem to have quite distinct meanings in the preterite tense. I don't know whether they also seem to change meanings to native speakers or if it just seems completely natural ...
5
votes
1answer
230 views

When should you use the preterite or the imperfect to express past time?

There are two ways to express simple past time actions and conditions in Spanish. One is the preterite, Comí tacos. (I ate tacos.) Besé a una chica. (I kissed a girl.) and the other is the ...
8
votes
4answers
1k views

“ir a «infinitive»” vs. future tense

There are two ways to indicate a future action, ir a «infinitive» and the future tense. How do I decide which to use when? Is one form more common when spoken or in writing? Is there a regional ...
7
votes
2answers
214 views

What is the future subjunctive and how was it used?

I've heard that there used to be another tense in Spanish called the "future-subjunctive" ¡A donde fueres, haz lo que vieres! I've heard the above means in a literal sense, "to where you will ...
17
votes
1answer
466 views

Preterit of ser and ir

Español Pretérito de ser: fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fuisteis, fueron Pretérito de ir: fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fuisteis, fueron ¿Cómo han evolucionado los verbos "ser" e "ir" para tener ...