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| 222217 |
which is used more often in conversation, the Imperfect, or the Gerund?
Se voglio dire: Giuseppe is eating an apple, do I say: #1. Giuseppe stava mangiando una mela. Or, #2. Giuseppe mangiava una mela. ?
--I think the first one is for what Giuseppe is doing at the moment, and the second one is for what Giuseppe is doing at a moment while something else is happening?
Can you use #2. on its own, or does it have to be followed by some other part of a sentence, like: Giuseppe mangiava una mela, mentre ha scritto una lettera.
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Language pair: Italian; English
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| 222307 |
Re:which is used more often in conversation, the Imperfect, or the Gerund?
Hi Tamara,
both your examples are in the past tense, the only difference between them is that one is past continuous and the other imperfect.
For the present tense, especially something 'at this very moment', you should say: Giuseppe sta mangiando una mela, which is the exact translation of Giuseppe is eating an apple.
Both options give an idea of what he was doing at a certain moment in the past, not anymore, whether something else was happening or not.
I hope this helps.
Sara
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Language pair: Italian; English
This is a reply to message # 222217
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| 222344 |
Re:Re:which is used more often in conversation, the Imperfect, or the Gerund?
Thank you Sara!
yes it does help, I was not paying attention to the fact that I was conjugating Stare in the past tense.
Can be confusing.
Thanks,
Tamara
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Language pair: Italian; English
This is a reply to message # 222307
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