Distinguishing between present and past with IR

[Bauval]

Hi all,

forgive me if this has been asked already but I have been practising past and present conjugations today and it has occurred to me that for verbs ending in IR, the Nosotros form is the same for past and present. For example Vivir, we live is vivimos but also we lived is vivimos? Am i missing something very obvious? How do you distinguish or is it not possible without context?

Thanks

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by Bauval

Hi all,

forgive me if this has been asked already but I have been practising past and present conjugations today and it has occurred to me that for verbs ending in IR, the Nosotros form is the same for past and present. For example Vivir, we live is vivimos but also we lived is vivimos? Am i missing something very obvious? How do you distinguish or is it not possible without context?

Thanks

You are correct, the context is needed to know which tense is meant. This is also the case or -ar verbs as well, so only -er verbs differentiate. I find it very confusing.

Further, all new verbs are -ar verbs, so that number is growing. By the way, always state which past tense is meant, because there are quite a few. You mean the preterite.

[Bauval]

Your quite right, I did mean the preterite.

Thanks for your help!

[micho]

Originally Posted by Bauval

Hi all,

forgive me if this has been asked already but I have been practising past and present conjugations today and it has occurred to me that for verbs ending in IR, the Nosotros form is the same for past and present. For example Vivir, we live is vivimos but also we lived is vivimos? Am i missing something very obvious? How do you distinguish or is it not possible without context?

Thanks

Sin contexto no hay otra forma de saberlo. La mayor parte de las veces el contexto lo aclara, y si tienes alguna duda, no te prives de preguntar ¿cuando? o ¿ahora?, o le repites la frase en interrogativo: ¿vivís o vivisteis? o cambias de verbo por otro con igual o parecido significado, si es posible: ¿os queréis? o en pretérito ¿os queríais? ¿os quisisteis?.

De todas formas: "Nosotros nos amamos" suena pastelón de merengue prenupcial, sobre todo si se dice en presente. Se dice habitualmente "nos queremos" o "nos quisimos".

[Bauval]

Gracias Micho pero de momento, no comprendo, solo un poco. lo siento. Con tiempo, lo hare aprender

(es correcto espanol?)

Mucha gracias

[caliber1]

I was confused, and still am with some situations, with these. I will say though, it doesn't take long of speaking to a native speaker in conversation for it to begin to feel more natural. Good luck.

Originally Posted by micho

Sin contexto no hay otra forma de saberlo. La mayor parte de las veces el contexto lo aclara, y si tienes alguna duda, no te prives de preguntar ¿cuando? o ¿ahora?, o le repites la frase en interrogativo: ¿vivís o vivisteis? o cambias de verbo por otro con igual o parecido significado, si es posible: ¿os queréis? o en pretérito ¿os queríais? ¿os quisisteis?.

De todas formas: "Nosotros nos amamos" suena pastelón de merengue prenupcial, sobre todo si se dice en presente. Se dice habitualmente "nos queremos" o "nos quisimos".

Without context there's no other way to know. Most of the time the context clarifies, and if you have any doubt, don't refrain from asking when or (I'm confused on ahora ), or repeat it in the interogative: . . .

[micho]

Originally Posted by Bauval

Gracias Micho pero de momento, no comprendo, solo un poco ("apenas te comprendo" o "apenas te entiendo"). lo siento. Con tiempo, lo hare aprender (futuro simple "aprenderé")

(es correcto espanol?)

Mucha gracias

Don't worry, I make many mistakes when trying to speak or to write in English, (even in Spanish sometimes).
Most of Spanish speakers we do not realise that the first person plural for the present in some verbs is equal to the first person plural for the preterite perfect in the same verbs. Most times we know the tense by the context, and if having any doubt, you may ask , when? ahora? or any other to clarify.

"Nosotros nos amamos mucho". May be you know if the partner is dead (preterite) o alive, and in this case, may be they are together, holding hands (present), or they are just married (present). May be he/she is speaking of a different partner to their actual one (preterite normally ).

Anyway sometimes there are misunderstandings.

Some common verbs are irregular and this problem does not exist (estar, ir, decir, andar...)

[aleCcowaN]

Originally Posted by Bauval

Con tiempo, lo hare aprender

(¿es correcto espanol?)

Muchas gracias

"Con el tiempo, lo habré de aprender"

haber de + infinitivo = verbal periphrasis implying obligation (those not so strong to weak ones), so it's also used to imply intention (specially, our own) or the natural course of things.