Which one of the below sentences is correct? Please explain why.
- Mi papá amaba a mi madre inmensamente.
- Mi papá amó a mi madre inmensamente.
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5What is the context of the two sentences? If the objective is to describe ongoing love that was interrupted by something, the imperfect tense works. If you want to convey that the love had a definite end point, use the preterite. So both could be correct IMHO. Related question spanish.stackexchange.com/questions/11860/tuvo-vs-ten%c3%ada– TravellerApr 29, 2021 at 11:54
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1Does this answer your question? "Tuvo" vs "tenía"– mdeweyApr 29, 2021 at 13:50
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Does this answer your question? When should you use the preterite or the imperfect to express past time?– mdeweyMay 29, 2021 at 12:59
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¿Como hispanohablante porque haces está pregunta??– LambieFeb 22 at 18:18
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3 Answers
Translations:
Mi papá amaba a mi madre inmensamente. => My dad used to love my mom immensely Mi papá amó a mi madre inmensamente. => My dad loved my mom immensely
Literally, it looks like the second phrase points to the one from your question but it look awkward both from Spanish as from English point of view. Because "immensely" give the impression of a past which lasted a while. And this is about pretérito imperfecto.
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2amaba is not always "used to love". It's often translated as a simple past, too.– LambieOct 28, 2021 at 20:21
The imperfect tense is used to express continuing actions in the past with no clear end.
- When my father entered into her life she started realizing that someone cares about her and loves her(She remembers when her father used to love her mom)
Se dio cuenta de que él era el que se preocupaba por ella y la amaba, every day, when they were together.
The pretérit tense is used to indicate a finished action at a specific point in time.
- When my mom and dad split up I realized that he was the only one who cared about her and loved her (She remembers how much her father loved her mom)
Se dio cuenta que fue el único que la amó de esa forma, no one else loved her the way he did.
It depends on the context but I'd say the preterit.
- "amaba" no deja claro si la acción finalizó o no. Lo que no significa que no se pueda usar aunque la acción finalizase.
- "amó" indica que la acción finalizó
