73.6.2 Preterite of estar+ gerund
With certain verbs, emphasis on the continuity of the past action is expressed with the
preterite of estar (e.g. estuve, ‘I was’), followed by a gerund (e.g. esperando, ‘waiting’).
Compare the last example above with the following:Estuvo esperando en el aeropuerto más de cuatro horas.
He/she was waiting at the airport for more than four hours. 20.1 (p. 96)
Note that, as with the use of the preterite in 73.6.1 above, this construction denotes a
past state of affairs which is viewed as a single episode, that is, as a completed action.
Overall, however, this form is uncommon, and unless you are certain of its usage, it is
best to avoid it.73.7 Talking about actions which were completed before another
past event took place
73.7.1 The preterite
A sentence such as ‘When they had finished their dinner, they went into the sitting
room’, is usually expressed in spoken Spanish with the preterite, Cuando terminaron
de cenar, pasaron al salón. Here are some further examples:
En cuanto salimos, se puso a llover.
As soon as we had gone out, it started to rain.Luego que terminó la carta, se sentó a leer.
After he/she had finished the letter, he/she sat down to read.17.4 (p. 75)
73.7.2 The past anterior
In formal written language, especially in literary style, the first of the two actions is
expressed with the past anterior, that is, the preterite of haber (e.g. hube, ‘I had’)
followed by a past participle (e.g. terminado, ‘finished’). Compare the last example
above with the one below.Luego que hubo terminado la carta, se sentó a leer.
After he had finished the letter, he sat down to read.17.10 (p. 79)
73.8 Describing past states or actions in progress over an
unspecified period of time
In sentences such as ‘I was tired’, ‘I used to live there’, the beginning or the end of the
state and the action are not specified. To describe states or actions in progress in an
open period of time, as above, Spanish uses the imperfect. In this context, the imperfectTALKING ABOUT THE PAST 73.7