Periphrastic past versus imperfect
Use completed past for bounded events and imperfect for the setting or an ongoing view.
How It Works
Quan vivíem a Girona, vam comprar una casa combines an ongoing life situation with a completed purchase. The imperfect opens the background; the periphrastic past presents an event as a whole. It is a difference of viewpoint, not simply long versus short duration.
A long event can use completed past if its limits matter: vam viure-hi deu anys. A brief situation can use imperfect when viewed in progress: el telèfon sonava quan vaig entrar. Repetition also allows either viewpoint depending on whether the series is bounded.
When narrating, ask whether the sentence advances the event sequence or supplies circumstances around it. Several imperfect clauses can build a scene, while a completed past brings a new event into it. The choice changes how the listener follows the story even when the same verb is used.
Examples (3)
- Llegia quan vas trucar.
I was reading when you called.
- Quan vivíem a Girona, vam comprar una casa.
When we lived in Girona, we bought a house.
- Vam viure-hi deu anys.
We lived there for ten years.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Recognize imperfect background viewpoint. Recognize completed periphrastic past events.
Related Patterns
Practice Periphrastic past versus imperfect in Bubblegum
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