Introduction
This
post deals with talking about the past
in general, and saying where
you were
last week
in particular.
SCENARIO
Imagine
you are talking to
a relative, a friend or colleague. You are talking about recent
travels. At some point, the other person
says to you: "where
were you last week?"
In
Spanish, the other person could choose to be less formal and say:
¿Dónde
estuviste la semana pasada?
Alternatively,
he/ she could choose to be more formal and say:
¿Dónde
estuvo (usted) la semana pasada?
OUR
TIP
The question is an
invitation for you to say where you were last week. When you say
where you have been, you DO NOT need to be concerned
about the level of formality in the other person's question.
Here are some
examples of how you could reply:
- La semana pasada estuve en España (last week I was in Spain);
- La semana pasada estuve en Galicia (last week I was in Galicia);
- La semana pasada estuve en Barcelona ( last week I was in Barcelona);
- La semana pasada estuve en la playa ( last week I was on the beach);
- La semana pasada estuve en casa (last week I was at home);
- La semana pasada estuve en casa de mis padres (last week I was at my parents');
Notes
Talking
about the past
Please
note that the all the examples above refer to past actions
which were completed at a time which also belongs in
the past. In other words, the period of time in which the
actions in the examples above were completed, i.e. last week,
is also in the past.
However,
sometimes you may wish to talk about past actions which were
completed at a time which in Spanish belongs in the
present. In other words, the period of time in which the
actions were completed is still ongoing. Examples of periods
of time which in Spanish belong in the present are: today/
this week/ this month/ this year/ etc. In such
cases, it is common to use an alternative form of referring to
completed actions, as follows:
- Hoy he estado en el centro (today I have been in the town center/ downtown)
- Este mes he estado en Barcelona dos veces (this month I have been in Barcelona twice)
- Esta semana he estado en casa (this week I have stayed at home)
Now
you should practise answering the question:
¿Dónde
estuviste la semana pasada?
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by Jose M González. All Rights Reserved.
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