twistedmelon

Someone asked me when does the past tense start, a day, week, month? and you know I couldn't explain.
In english the past is determined in conjunction with something but in Spanish the verb is determined by recent or longer past.
So at what point do you use in time to differentiate change from one to the other.

paintermujer

The perfect past isnt one of my strong points but if I was talking about something I did that morning I would use it.

Esta manana fui al mercado.

I think its right cos it is a completed action in the past even though it was only this morning.

Im sure Ill be corrected if Im wrong.

I make mistakes all the time.Its the only way to learn.

Sherlock Holmes

You are quite correct - in English or Spanish the preterite tense is for a single completed action in the past.

cricketman

I'm not sure what you mean. Anything that is in the past is given the past tense. And which one you use depends on the situation and context, not on the amount of time passed.

Of course there are 3 past tenses. Using paintermujer's example:

Fui al mercado por la manyana (I went.)
Ya he ido al mercado (I've already gone..)
Iba al mercado todos los dias (I used to go...)

The simple past tenses and the he ido/he comido etc tense are interchangeable. For example those in the North of Spain tend to use the simple past tense more regularly, which those in Madrid use the he ido/he comido tense more.

I tend to equate the he ido/he comido tense to the recent past like in English (I recently have gone/eaten) and otherwise use the simple past.

Hope that makes sense!

paintermujer

Haber is a really good verb to use when you get stuck. It is easier to form than some of the irregulars in the past.You just need to adjust the sentence a bit.

cricketman

Yes it is the easiest tense of verb to use and a great one for beginners/intermediates to use until they get used to the other two past tenses!

twistedmelon

I was thinking about the 3 verbs estar,ser and haber.
e.g.
If you used to be a baker, is it
estaba un panadero
ustuve " " "
he estado " "

era un " "
fui " "
he sido " "

he habido " "
I was always told that the tense changes depending on whether it was recent past or a longer past.
Also for example," Tell me what happened" cuentame lo que paso, (sorry can't do accent over o in paso) the accent over the o indicates the past does it not?

Lenox

For once - doing Latin at school makes a bit of sense.
Still and all - when you speak Spanish - the correct tense and mood will sound right to the ear (as, indeed, it does in English).

cricketman

Your profession is a permanent quality, so is "ser" rather than "estar". So in this case it would be "Yo era un panadero" (I used to be..). If you wanted to highlight the passing of time and that you no longer are, then you could say "He sido un panadero" (I have been a..).

If it was something transient, say you were the baker at the fiesta last year you could say "Fui el panadero", but that would depend a little on the context, still "Era" sounds better to my non-native ears

Yes "pasó" is the simple past third person tense for "happened".

I should add that in this context "Cuentame lo que pasó" means "Tell me what happened". It doesnt matter how long ago the act that happened was. "Cuentame lo que pasaba" doesnt really make sense, but you could say "Cuentame como lo pasaba" if you were asking about how a process used to work or how you used to spend your time.

The key is that the simple past tense is used for actions that happened once and the imperfect past tense is used for actions that were repeated or take a longer period of time where other smaller actions happened.

Complicated, I know and its all a little metaphysical. I'll let someone else explain the subjunctive

bil

3 main pasts. Perfect, preterit and imperfect.

Preterit is for a single concluded act in the past.

I ate at Joe's. (one time only.)

Imperfect is for habitual acts in the past that are over and done with.

I used to eat at Joe's. (I did it several times, but don't do it any more.)

Perfect. Is for an act or acts in the past that may or may not be repeated in the future.

I have eaten at Joe's. (Not specifying how many times)

There are of course odd tenses like the past continuous. 'I was eating at Joe's when the bell rang.'

jimenato

I think I've noticed that before a profession or employment title they don't usually use an indefinite article so "He sido panadero" rather than "He sido un panadero"

I find haber and ir for forming the past and future tenses the only way I can do it I'm afraid but most seem to understand me.

agoreira

It would actually be "era panadero, era médico" etc. Remember the omission of indefinite article before profession, occupation etc. Es médico, not es un médico Mi hermana es enfermera, mi hermano se hizo médico.
Here endeth...
Edit. Just seen Jimenato was thinking the same. You are spot on

cricketman

Yes you are correct.

I was translating directly, my bad!

bil

The subjunctive is a bugger. It's very easy to form, but knowing when to use it is very complicated. Unreal constructions, classical phrases, but there it starts to go mad.

There is a whole book on the subjunctive.

agoreira

If saying "I used to do something", try using soler, it's a good verb to get into the habit of using, just need to learn the conjugation. "suelo acostarme tarde", I normally go to bed late, "solía acostarme tarde" I used to go to bed late. Solíamos trabajar juntos, we used to work together etc