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Estaba + gerund works for imperfect?

 

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  #1  
Old June 17, 2009, 12:41 PM
satchrocks satchrocks is offline
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Estaba + gerund works for imperfect?

The first language I have studied outside of English is Latin; therefore, many of my ideas in trying to study Spanish are rooted in my ideas about Latin, hence the following question:

Which of the following is correct, or are both of them acceptable?

Yo caminara en el calle.
I was walking on the street.

Yo estaba caminando en el calle.
I was walking on the street.

I know it's used to construct the "progressive tense," but I was just curious as to see if such a literal translation from English worked in Spanish.
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  #2  
Old June 17, 2009, 12:44 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by satchrocks View Post
The first language I have studied outside of English is Latin; therefore, many of my ideas in trying to study Spanish are rooted in my ideas about Latin, hence the following question:

Which of the following is correct, or are both of them acceptable?

Yo caminara en el calle.
I was walking on the street.

Yo estaba caminando en el calle.
I was walking on the street.

I know it's used to construct the "progressive tense," but I was just curious as to see if such a literal translation from English worked in Spanish.
Yo estaba caminando por la calle (femenin)
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  #3  
Old June 17, 2009, 12:57 PM
satchrocks satchrocks is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by irmamar View Post
Yo estaba caminando por la calle (femenin)
Gracias, me has ayudado mucho!

Asi que...
Cuando debe de usar "caminara?"
Yo estaba mirando a un table de "caminar" y lo dijo que "caminara" es imperfect; para Inglés, "imperfecto" = "was walking."

Porque no debe de usar "imperfecto" para "was (verb)-ing"?
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  #4  
Old June 17, 2009, 01:12 PM
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Si estoy correcto, 'caminara' es subjuntivo, no es imperfecto.

Edit: Creo que 'caminaba' es el imperfecto, pero no traduce como 'was walking'. Imperfecto en Español es un acción que tenía lugar sobre un tiempo indefinido. Por ejemplo "Yo caminaba al escuela", o en ingles, "I walked to school" (As in something I use to do in the past).

Last edited by Fazor; June 17, 2009 at 01:28 PM.
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Old June 17, 2009, 01:18 PM
satchrocks satchrocks is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fazor View Post
Si estoy correcto, 'caminara' es subjuntivo, no es imperfecto.


Yo leí mal la tabla de "caminar"!!! Lo siento.

Asi que...

"Estaba caminando" = "yo caminaba"?
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  #6  
Old June 17, 2009, 01:19 PM
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@satchrocks: Fazor está en lo cierto, "caminara" es subjuntivo. Quizás lo que quisiste decir en tu primer enunciado es "Yo caminaba en la calle". That would be correct.


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Last edited by AngelicaDeAlquezar; June 17, 2009 at 01:22 PM. Reason: It took me longer to write this post than it took satchrocks to post a reply. :)
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  #7  
Old June 17, 2009, 01:23 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fazor View Post
Si estoy correcto, 'caminara' es subjuntivo, no es imperfecto.
Both things : imperfecto de subjuntivo.

You can use the imperfect of indicative: caminaba, instead "estaba caminando":

Yo estaba caminando por la calle cuando vi un coche que se acercaba a toda velocidad.
Yo caminaba por la calle cuando vi un coche que se acercaba a toda velocidad.

But it's most used the first sentence. Imperfect is most used when the action is repeated in the time:

Los lunes, al anochecer, caminaba solitario por la calle, sumido en sus propios pensamientos.
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  #8  
Old June 17, 2009, 01:24 PM
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I didn't see your answers, I was writing.
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  #9  
Old June 17, 2009, 01:31 PM
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Sorry, I edited my post like 3 times after I first posted it. Can someone check the edit and see how I did?
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  #10  
Old June 17, 2009, 05:52 PM
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CrOtALiTo CrOtALiTo is offline
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I'm sorry, I will do some bit corrections in your sentences, I hope this do not bothering you.



Quote:
Originally Posted by satchrocks View Post
The first language I have studied outside of English is Latin; therefore, many of my ideas in trying to study Spanish are rooted in my ideas about Latin, hence the following question:

Which of the following is correct, or are both of them acceptable?

Yo caminara( Caminaria) en el calle.
I was walking on the street.

Yo estaba caminando en el calle.
I was walking on the street.

I know it's used to construct the "progressive tense," but I was just curious as to see if such a literal translation from English worked in Spanish.

They are perfect translations into of the Spanish, I don't know anything more about your questions because I'm not teacher and never I liked the Spanish jijij, but I can give you some advices.
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