# andaba / estaba andando.(Past progressive / Imperfect)



## Boerboel

Hi all,

As if at times it's not hard enough to distinguish when to use the preterite or the imperfect...  How do I know when to use the past progressive instead of the imperfect? 

For example what are the differences between these???

Yo andaba.
Yo estaba andando.
Yo estuve andando.

Technically, I think all three could be tranlsated to English as "I was walking."  What's the difference between them?  How do I decide when to use one over the other?

Thanks so much!!!!!


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## crvc

I'm just learning but have already realized Spanish enjoys double negatives and redundancies.  I've already seen that a lot of synonymous terms can only be understood clearly when seen in context.


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## lazarus1907

Boerboel said:


> Yo andaba.
> Yo estaba andando.
> Yo estuve andando.


There are differences, and they are rather subtle.

In the first two, due to the imperfect, the focus of the story is on the action as it goes by, and most likely, because a simultaneous event is about to be described. The difference is that the second one is also progressive: the action develops from "less" to "more" somehow.

The last one emphasizes the duration of the action as well, but the main focus is on its end, so it is not very suitable for describing simultanous events.


crvc said:


> I'm just learning but have already realized Spanish enjoys double negatives and redundancies. I've already seen that a lot of synonymous terms can only be understood clearly when seen in context.


There is a reason for those "double negatives". Fortunately, they obey rather systematic rules.
Is there a language without "redundancies"?


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## Outsider

Boerboel said:


> Yo andaba.


You would use this for a habit, or an action that was completed over an extended period of time. You are speaking of a time while the action or situation was still in progress. You are saying that you used to walk, or would walk during some period in the past. But -- and perhaps this is the crucial factor -- the action in question is typically spread out over time. For example:

_Iba a la misa todos los sábados._ --> I used to go to mass every Saturday --> But there were long periods of time in between when you weren't in mass.
_Cuando era chico, vivía en Barcelona._ --> When I was a boy, we lived in Barcelona. --> A single action, but spread out over an extended period of time.



Boerboel said:


> Yo estaba andando.


You use this to speak of a concrete, unique action at a transient moment in time when it is going on. You are saying that you were walking at a specific point in time.

_Estaba pensando en ti._ --> I was (just) thinking of you. --> It was going on at that exact moment.

As you can guess, this tense is often used when an action or situation is interrupted, and left unfinished.



Boerboel said:


> Yo estuve andando.


In this case, the action is conceived as whole and finished. I (have) spent some time walking. I no longer am walking. You are thinking of the first moments _after_ you finished walking.

In any case, there _is_ some overlap between the field of the imperfect and the field of the imperfect progressive.

I hope this helps.


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## Boerboel

Ah, ok!  Yes, it did help!

  So, armed with this new information, let's see if I can use it correctly...  Oh, by the way, isn't the imperfect also used to set up a scene?  Like this...

"Yo andaba en el medio de la calle, cuando un bus me atropelló."

Can the imperfect be used like the above sentence?  However, it also seems like maybe the imperfect progressive could be used in this way too...  correct or no??

Now for a try at the imperfect progressive...

I'm walking along, and a friend bumps into me...

Friend: "Qué estabas haciendo?"
Me: "Yo estaba andando al lago."

Now a try at the past progressive (or preterite progressive... whatever it's called)

At the end of a long day of working, I am now at home, a friend calls me...
Friend: "Qué hiciste hoy?"
Me:  "Estuve trabajando todo el día!"

Are my examples correct?

Thanks so much!


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## Outsider

Boerboel said:


> Oh, by the way, isn't the imperfect also used to set up a scene?  Like this...
> 
> "Yo andaba en el medio de la calle, cuando un autobus me atropelló."
> 
> Can the imperfect be used like the above sentence?


Yes. I always forget at least one of the functions of the imperfect. 
Seriously, it's basically these three.



Boerboel said:


> However, it also seems like maybe the imperfect progressive could be used in this way too...  correct or no??


Correct. 

"Yo estaba andando en el medio de la calle, cuando un autobus me atropelló."

If I'm not mistaken, in this case the imperfect progressive would be more colloquial, and the plain imperfect would be more literary.



Boerboel said:


> I'm walking along, and a friend bumps into me...
> 
> Friend: "Qué estabas haciendo?"
> Me: "(Yo) estaba andando al lago."


 


Boerboel said:


> Now a try at the past progressive (or preterite progressive... whatever it's called)
> 
> At the end of a long day of working, I am now at home, a friend calls me...
> Friend: "Qué hiciste hoy?"
> Me:  "Estuve trabajando todo el día!"


I'm not sure if there's an official name for it, but I would call it the preterite progressive, as well. A strange concept for English speakers, but Spanish makes sense of it!

By the way, there is some overlap between the following pairs of past tenses in Spanish:

- imperfect and imperfect progressive
- preterite and preterite progressive
- imperfect progressive and perfect progressive

This does not mean, of course, that they are interchangeable under all circumstances. Usually, they are not interchangeable.


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## lazarus1907

Boerboel said:


> Now a try at the past progressive (or preterite progressive... whatever it's called)


Some grammars, like Butt & Benjamin's, call this "*continuous forms*" to differenciate them from the *progressive forms* in English. So, preterite continuous would be a reasonable name for it.
In Spanish they are called *perífrasis (de gerundio)*, or, to be even more precise, perífrasis de gerundio con significado durativo y progresivo.


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## micafe

> Friend: "Qué estabas haciendo?"
> Me: "Yo estaba andando al lago."


 
Everybody's explanation is very accurate. 

I just want to add something that is not terribly important. I'd use *'caminar'* instead of *'andar'*. To me, it sounds much better.

*Yo estaba caminando a/hacia el lago.*



> "Yo andaba en el medio de la calle, cuando un autobus me atropelló."


 
In Colombia we normally say *'bus'* even though *'autobus'* is understood.


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## Boerboel

Thank you guys all so much!!! This is very helpful!! 


micafe said:


> Everybody's explanation is very accurate.
> 
> I just want to add something that is not terribly important. I'd use *'caminar'* instead of *'andar'*. To me, it sounds much better.
> 
> *Yo estaba caminando a/hacia el lago.*


 
Is there a difference in the meaning of the two, or is this just what you are used to using?



micafe said:


> In Colombia we normally say *'bus'* even though *'autobus'* is understood.


 
Yes, it seems like when I was in Ecuador they tended to say "bus" also, but I could be wrong.



Outsider said:


> A strange concept for English speakers, but Spanish makes sense of it!


Yes, which is why it's so difficult for some of us English speakers to decide which of the many Spanish past tenses to use sometimes!

Man, WordReference is such an important tool for me in learning Spanish! Thanks WordReference, and all you members here who are willing to help!


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## micafe

> *Boerboel* Is there a difference in the meaning of the two, or is this just what you are used to using?


 
In this example they're synonyms, 'andar' is not incorrect, it's just that 'caminar' sounds better.

'Andar' has many more meanings than 'caminar'. It's used in a lot of situations. 
On the other hand, 'caminar' is just to move one foot in front of the other, and sometimes it's used when talking about objects that move (the planets, for example) but that's about it. 

Because of that, from my point of view, 'caminar' gives more the idea of 'walking', of using your feet to move from one place to the other, because 'andar' can mean many other things. 

I don't know if this makes any sense at all.


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## Boerboel

OK thanks, for the explanation!!!


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## Shiggity

Outsider said:


> I'm not sure if there's an official name for it, but I would call it the preterite progressive, as well. A strange concept for English speakers, but Spanish makes sense of it!


 
Either way, "estuve trabajando" renders well in English as "I have been working."


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## splish

Shiggity said:


> Either way, "estuve trabajando" renders well in English as "I have been working."


Hmm, definitely not in Spain, then it would be: "he estado trabajando".


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## lazarus1907

splish said:


> Hmm, definitely not in Spain, then it would be: "he estado trabajando".


It depends:

Hoy:
Estuve trabajando todo el día. 
He estado trabajando todo el día.

Ayer:
Estuve trabajando todo el día.
He estado trabajando todo el día. 

However, "estuve" referred to today, although it is academically unacceptable in Spain, it is the educated standard in many American countries.


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## splish

lazarus1907 said:


> It depends:
> 
> Hoy:
> Estuve trabajando todo el día.
> He estado trabajando todo el día.
> 
> Ayer:
> Estuve trabajando todo el día.
> He estado trabajando todo el día.
> 
> However, "estuve" referred to today, although it is academically unacceptable in Spain, it is the educated standard in many American countries.


Tienes razón, pero con lo de "definitely not in Spain" me refería a lo que dijo Shiggity en cuanto a que "estuve trabajando" se traduce bien al inglés como "I have been working", pero de la manera en que se usa esa expresión en España (la mayor parte) nunca se podría traducir al inglés como "I have been working". O al menos no veo cómo podría ser así...


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## Ivy29

Boerboel said:


> Hi all,
> 
> As if at times it's not hard enough to distinguish when to use the preterite or the imperfect... How do I know when to use the past progressive instead of the imperfect?
> 
> For example what are the differences between these???
> 
> Yo andaba. ( yo andaba mucho por las calles cuando era jóven) Habitual action.
> Yo estaba andando. ( past progressive) Action going on when other action happened) Estaba mirando vitrinas cuando sonó un disparo)
> Yo estuve andando. ( this is a past periphrasis of the verb 'estuve' of an action in progress.  (without sense of repetitive action)
> 
> Technically, I think all three could be tranlsated to English as "I was walking." What's the difference between them? How do I decide when to use one over the other?
> 
> Thanks so much!!!!!


 
Ivy29


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## Shiggity

splish said:


> Tienes razón, pero con lo de "definitely not in Spain" me refería a lo que dijo Shiggity en cuanto a que "estuve trabajando" se traduce bien al inglés como "I have been working", pero de la manera en que se usa esa expresión en España (la mayor parte) nunca se podría traducir al inglés como "I have been working". O al menos no veo cómo podría ser así...


 
Lo cierto es que no hay traducción al inglés para "estuve" diferente de "estaba," se traducen de la misma manera, como "was" y_ estuve tratando _proveer una connotación mejor que lo que implicito con "was working."


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## splish

Sí, lo que yo estaba diciendo es que, como ha dicho Lazarus, "_estuve_ referring to today [...] is academically unacceptable in Spain", por eso no sería posible traducir "I have been working" (lo cual en inglés  tampoco se usa para referir a ayer) al español de España como "estuve trabajando".


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## Shiggity

Ah, bueno.  A propósito, creo que quieras decir "cualquiera" en lugar de "tampoco" en este caso.


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## splish

Shiggity said:


> Ah, bueno.  A propósito, creo que quier*e*s decir "cualquiera" en lugar de "tampoco" en este caso.


No, quería decir "tampoco". 

If I were talking in English about something I did yesterday, I wouldn't say "Yesterday, I have been doing..." , but "Yesterday, I was doing...", yes.

As mentioned, in Spanish Spanish, you wouldn't use "Estuve trabajando todo el día" to refer to something you did today (although you could in LatAm Spanish), but "He estado trabajando", yes.

Therefore to say that "estuve trabajando" renders well in English as "I have been working" is not very accurate: that was my point! (sorry to labour it ).


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## Shiggity

Okay, sorry. I guess I'm confused about the "tampoco" because I thought it was used as an adverb after a negative, as opposed to using it as a determiner pronoun, as in your example.

Vide I vs. IV:

/es/translation.asp?tranword=either
(Sorry I can't post the full URL until I've met quota)

Also, with quieras, I was using the subjunctive; is that incorrect?


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## ChocolateLover

Hola:



> Hoy:
> Estuve trabajando todo el día.
> He estado trabajando todo el día.
> 
> Ayer:
> Estuve trabajando todo el día.
> He estado trabajando todo el día.
> 
> However, "estuve" referred to today, although it is academically unacceptable in Spain, it is the educated standard in many American countries.




¿Se puede decir "He estado trabajando mucho" en este contexto en España, por favor?

He estado trabajando mucho, por eso (es que) no he podido escribirte antes.

Muchas gracias


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## flljob

¿Se puede decir "He estado trabajando mucho" en este contexto en España, por favor?

He estado trabajando mucho, por eso (es que) no he podido escribirte antes.

Yo creo que sí (yo soy de México). Sólo que en México el error se vería en la segunda parte. Yo diría: He estado trabajando mucho, por eso no había podido escribirte antes (es decir, ya te escribí). Si dices "no he podido escribirte antes", en ese contexto, en mi país suena ilógico.


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## ChocolateLover

Muchas gracias

¿Sonaría mejor decir "por eso no podía escribirte antes"?

Gracias


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## flljob

ChocolateLover said:


> Muchas gracias
> 
> ¿Sonaría mejor decir "por eso no podía escribirte antes"?
> 
> Gracias


 
Por eso no había podido escribirte antes.

Saludos


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## ChocolateLover

Muchas gracias

Si es parte de un correo, ¿se podría usar "por eso no había podido escribirte antes"? Porque todavía no se ha mandado el correo, ¿o todavía se usaría "por eso no había podido escribirte antes"?

Gracias

saludos


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## flljob

Hoy:
Estuve trabajando todo el día.  = La jornada laboral ya terminó y no paré de trabajar durante toda la jornada.

He estado trabajando todo el día. La jornada laboral todavía no termina y sigo trabajando

Ayer:
Estuve trabajando todo el día. 

He estado trabajando todo el día.  De acuerdo con el tache

However, "estuve" referred to today, although it is academically unacceptable in Spain, it is the educated standard in many American countries. 

No creo que sea en toda España. Como en México se habla un español andaluz, probablemente en Andalucía sea perfectamente aceptable el pretérito indefinido referido a hoy.


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## flljob

ChocolateLover said:


> Muchas gracias
> 
> Si es parte de un correo, ¿se podría usar "por eso no había podido escribirte antes"? Porque todavía no se ha mandado el correo, ¿o todavía se usaría "por eso no había podido escribirte antes"?
> 
> Gracias
> 
> saludos


No había podido pero ahora ya pude (ya te lo mandé)
No había podido pero ahora ya puedo y lo voy a hacer.


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## ChocolateLover

Muchas gracias

Saludos


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## Ynez

ChocolateLover said:


> He estado trabajando mucho, por eso (es que) no he podido escribirte antes.



Aquí es perfecta.


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## Ynez

flljob said:


> Hoy:
> Estuve trabajando todo el día.  = La jornada laboral ya terminó y no paré de trabajar durante toda la jornada.
> 
> He estado trabajando todo el día. La jornada laboral todavía no termina y sigo trabajando



A mí también me resultan perfectas cualquiera de las dos. La segunda la diría para lo mismo que la primera = pasado. Aunque también es posible si sigo...

Si sigo trabajando lo más normal sería:

_Llevo todo el día trabajando_.


Pero cuando comentaron que en España la primera no está bien, se dijo "en ambientes académicos", que a mí me hace pensar en la RAE o algo así. Luego quizás sea más normal en unas regiones u otras, tal y como tú dices.


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## ChocolateLover

Muchas gracias

Saludos


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## LA FLAK'S

Boerboel said:


> Hi all,
> 
> As if at times it's not hard enough to distinguish when to use the preterite or the imperfect...  How do I know when to use the past progressive instead of the imperfect?
> 
> 
> 
> Yo andaba. use imperfect in narratives situationes, when you are telling the history with many details...
> Yo estaba andando. use imperfect + gerunds (verb+ando, iendo) when the accion is in progress... yo estaba andando en el carro rojo de mi tío en el parque con mis amigos, porque era nuestro día libre....
> Yo estuve andando. use simple past when the accion start and finish and have an specific time....el lunes yo estuve andando en el carro de mi tío todo el día.


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## ChocolateLover

Thank you very much

Ahora lo entiendo mucho mejor

A few small corrections:


> use *the *imperfect





> use *the *simple past *tense *when the accion start*s* and finish*es* and *has* *a (Se dice "an apple" por la vocal, pero "a book")* specific time.


Regards


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## dialogal

splish said:


> Hmm, definitely not in Spain, then it would be: "he estado trabajando".




En inglés tampoco.

"He estado trabajando", or, "I've been working" is a the present perfect progressive form. Especially in English, any present perfect form, progressive or otherwise, signifies an event or condition which started in the past and continues up to the present. Eg. "I've been studying for my English test since noon." or "We've been waiting for 5 hours." In both cases, the condition persists. I'm STILL studying, and We're STILL waiting.

"Estuve trabajando", the subtleties of whose overlaps with "Estaba trabajando" and "Trabajaba" notwithstanding, refers to an event which is decidedly in the past. Especially for the preterite "Estuve..." in this case. Any one of those three can be fairly translated to "I was working", which as opposed to the above perfect form signifies clearly that I am NOT working at the present moment.


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## Rondivu

dialogal said:


> En inglés tampoco.
> 
> "He estado trabajando", or, "I've been working" is a the present perfect progressive form. Especially in English, any present perfect form, progressive or otherwise, signifies an event or condition which started in the past and continues up to the present. Eg. "I've been studying for my English test since noon." or "We've been waiting for 5 hours." In both cases, the condition persists. I'm STILL studying, and We're STILL waiting.



Taken in isolation, "He estado trabajando" could equally refer to a recent past situation. With no context it is ambiguous (at least in Spanish of Spain), so extra information is needed. If you want a more acurate phrase for "I've been working", just the sentence alone, then "llevo  trabajando..." best conveys the idea of an event or condition which started in the past and continues up to the present.

He estado trabajando todo el día, y ya es hora de que pare. (No ambiguity. Action still in progress)

Llevo trabajando todo el día.(Action still in progress)

He estado trabajando/Hemos estado esperando cinco horas. (Both sentences are ambiguous. We don't know if the action is still in progress)

Un saludo cordial


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## JennyTW

dialogal said:


> En inglés tampoco.
> 
> "He estado trabajando", or, "I've been working" is a the present perfect progressive form. Especially in English, any present perfect form, progressive or otherwise, signifies an event or condition which started in the past and continues up to the present. Eg. "I've been studying for my English test since noon." or "We've been waiting for 5 hours." In both cases, the condition persists. I'm STILL studying, and We're STILL waiting.
> .



Actually not ALL uses of the present perfect refer to events or conditions that continue up to the present. 

For example;
 I've been to India. He's swum the Channel. (Present perfect for experience)

You've changed your hairstyle! He's broken his leg. (Present perfect for past action with present result ). 

I find it safer to say that the present perfect always links the past with the present in some way. (In the case of its use for "experience" we can consider that all those experiences contribute to making up the person we are today).


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