Spanish language learning forums

Spanish language learning forums (http://forums.tomisimo.org/index.php)
-   Grammar (http://forums.tomisimo.org/forumdisplay.php?f=19)
-   -   Conditional in the past (http://forums.tomisimo.org/showthread.php?t=23249)

fglorca May 14, 2018 03:21 AM

Conditional in the past
 
When I was young, I used to play football (I would play football):
• Cuando era pequeño, jugaba al fútbol.

Can we use the Conditional in Spanish as well?
• Cuando era pequeño, jugaría al fútbol.

Many thanks in advance.

Rusty May 14, 2018 06:17 AM

No, you cannot use the conditional to convey the habitual-past aspect. That is expressed using the imperfect tense.

In English, we say either 'would play' or 'used to play' to express something we habitually did in the past. The 'would' used in this aspect should not be confused with the 'would' used to describe hypothetical or probable situations. That is expressed with the conditional mood.

Your first sentence correctly conveys the habitual past.
It can also be rendered:
Cuando (era) pequeño, solía jugar al fútbol.

fglorca May 21, 2018 03:16 AM

Excellent - thank you, Rusty.


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 05:37 AM.

Forum powered by vBulletin® Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.