Past tense help!!!

[caliber1]

I am sorry for posting so many new threads, but if I could explain how much help this forum has been to me in the last week or so you would definitely understand .

I am confused on the past tense forms of a verb. If I use the verb "manejar/to drive". There are two ways of writing the past tense. Maneje y manejaba right? I just don't understand when to use on and not the other. Can someone give me a clear explanation. No one at work made it clear .

[Rusty]

The difference is whether the action is viewed as completed or not.

Preterite: manejé = I drove - the driving started and ended in the past
Imperfect: manejaba = I/he/she/you was/were driving - the driving started in the past but didn't necessarily end (and may still be occurring); I/he/she/you used to drive - repeated (or habitual) action in the past

There are many threads that discuss the difference between the preterite and imperfect tenses, in case this short answer isn't clear enough.

[wrholt]

Adding to Rusty's comment: the choice of preterite (aka "simple perfect") or imperfect ALWAYS affects the meaning of the verb. Sometimes the effect is very subtle or makes very little difference; sometimes the effect is so great that one must use completely different words to translate the verb into English. The other threads that Rusty mentions should be an excellent start in understanding the distinction between them.

[caliber1]

So if this is correct. Manejé (thanks Rusty for reminding me about the accent) would be like, "I drove to the store". My driving ended at the store. Manejaba would be like, "I was driving when I saw a deer". Seeing the deer happened when I was driving but there wasn't necessarily an end to the driving. Is that correct? It does make more sense.

[Rusty]

Originally Posted by caliber1

Manejé would be like, "I drove to the store". My driving ended at the store.
Manejaba would be like, "I was driving when I saw a deer". Seeing the deer happened when I was driving but there wasn't necessarily an end to the driving. Is that correct?

Yes and yes! The imperfect is often used to 'set the stage' for another event that happened in the past. It has other uses, too, like habitual or repeated events, or describing a person's characteristics in the past.