Verbs that change meaning in preterite practice

Originally Posted by cmon (Post 73423)

I knew the man that used to sell vegetables at the downtown market.
Yo conocía el hombre que vendía las verduras en el mercado centro.

I met him 3 years ago.
Yo lo conocí hace tres años.

When did you find out that he died?
¿Cuándo supiste que él murió/había muerto?

I've know it since yesterday.
lo sabía desde ayer. Lo he sabido hace ayer.

I knew him very well because I had to go to the market 2 times per week this past year.
Yo lo conocía muy bien porque tenía que ir al mercado dos veces por semana el año pasado.

Yesterday morning, I had a phone call from his wife.
Ayer por la mañana, tuve una llamada telefónica de su esposa.

I tried to answer the phone, but I couldn't get to it in time.
Quise contestar el teléfono pero no pude llegarlo en tiempo.


I wanted to talk to her.
Quería hablar consigo.

I regretted that I missed her call.
Yo sentí que falté su llamada telefónica.

I felt sympathy for her loss.
Yo sentía compasión para su pérdida.

I was able to speak with her later on in the day.
Pude hablar consigo más tarde en el día.

I took the day off from work so I could go to the funeral.
Me tomé el día libre del trabajo así que podía ir al entierro.

Thanks much

Originally Posted by cmon (Post 73423)

I knew the man that used to sell vegetables at the downtown market.
Yo conocía el hombre que vendía las verduras en el mercado centro.:good:

I met him 3 years ago.
Yo lo conocí hace tres años.:good:

When did you find out that he died?
Cuándo supiste que él murió/había muerto?:good:

I've know it since yesterday.
lo sabía desde ayer. Lo he sabido hace ayer.:bad:

I knew him very well because I had to go to the market 2 times per week this past year.
Yo lo conocía muy bien porque tenía que ir al mercado dos veces por semana el año pasado.:good:

Yesterday morning, I had a phone call from his wife.
Ayer por la mañana, tuve una llamada telefónica de su esposa.:good:

I tried to answer the phone, but I couldn't get to it in time.
Quise contestar el teléfono pero no pude llegarle a tiempo.:good:

I wanted to talk to her.
Quería hablar :good:consigo.

I regretted that I missed her call.
Yo sentí que falté su llamada telefónica. (Try another verb)

I felt sympathy for her loss.
Yo sentía compasión para su pérdida.:bad:

I was able to speak with her later on in the day.
Pude hablar :good:consigo más tarde en el día.:bad:

I took the day off from work so I could go to the funeral.
Me tomé el día libre del trabajo :good:así que podía ir al entierro.:bad:

Thanks much

Originally Posted by bobjenkins (Post 73425)

ME parece bueno pero soy novato:D. Aunque, no creo que los verbos cambian sus significados

Originally Posted by Ambarina (Post 73427)

I've highlighted what needs to be corrected.:)

Originally Posted by cmon (Post 73448)

I tried to answer the phone, but I couldn't get to it in time.
Quise contestar el teléfono pero no pude llegarle en tiempo. (Why no le?
Because "get" has so many uses that we forget to use synonyms. My advice is that when you see the word "get" think around it and come up with another way of saying the same thing. You'll find it easier to translate.
Remember that in Spanish "llegar" is "arrive". In English, you arrive or arrive at. But you can't say you arrive it.You could say "no pude llegar a tiempo" or "no pude cogerlo a tiempo". (*Have to be careful with "coger". Depends which country you're in to be able to use it. No problem in Spain:D)
I wanted to talk to her.
Quería hablar consigo. Can't use consigo if pronoun doesn't refer back to subject. Quería hablar con ella.:good:

I regretted that I missed her call.
Yo sentí que falté su llamada telefónica. Use perder? Yes

I felt sympathy for her loss.
Yo sentí compasión para su pérdida. Use por to feel sorry towards someone. :good:

I was able to speak with her later on in the day.
Pude hablar consigo con ella más tarde en el día.:good:

I took the day off from work so I could go to the funeral.
Me tomé el día libre del trabajo así que podía ir al entierro. por lo tanto?:bad:
Why not podía? Because "could" is not the past of "can". The second part of the sentence is not in the past.

Can I have some sentences where sentía and podía would be used?
Thanks much

Originally Posted by cmon (Post 73466)

I took the day off from work so I could go to the funeral.
Me tomé el día libre del trabajo así que podía ir al entierro.

Can these be used?
a fin de que
a que
con objeto de que
para que

Originally Posted by cmon (Post 73472)

So use the present tense?
Me tomé el día libre del trabajo para que puedo ir al entierro.

I took the day off so I can go to the funeral.
I took the day off so I could go to the funeral.

For me, the second sentence implies that the funeral is over.
Para mí, la segunda frase insinúa que el entierro ha terminado.

Originally Posted by AngelicaDeAlquezar (Post 73478)

"Para poder" is used when the one "who can" is not the same as the one who speaks. When it's the same person, one uses the subjunctive.

Me tomé el día libre del trabajo para poder ir al entierro/funeral. The context will tell if the funeral is going to be held or if it's over. :)


Mi hermana cuidó a mis hijos para que (yo) pudiera ir al funeral.
My sister took care of my children so I could go to the funeral.

Abrí la ventana para que pudiéramos respirar aire fresco.
I opened the window so we could breathe some fresh air.

Originally Posted by Ambarina (Post 73467)

Did you catch my drift when I said that "could" is not the past of "can"?;)