Answers
Aug 28, 2014 - 09:22 AM
Estuve - preterite tense > Generally speaking, the preterite is used for actions in the past that are seen as completed. Estaba - imperfect tense >Generally speaking, the imperfect is used for actions in the past that are not seen as completed or implies that the past action did not have a definite beginning or a definite end. Here's a past thread that might help: http://commons.fluenz.com/spanish/posts/fue-estaba-estuvo-era-ha-estado-...
Aug 28, 2014 - 01:55 PM
Now that I have some practice (I remember that thread MeIM mentions, I posted it around level 5 too), I would immediately read "Estabamos en Paris por trabajo" as an action that repeated itself (I used to go to Paris for work, not just once), as opposed to Estuve en Nueva York which I would understand as a one-time vacation (I went, and that's it).
You haven't hit a wall, practice will help get your brain figure out when to use the different past tenses.
You haven't hit a wall, practice will help get your brain figure out when to use the different past tenses.