Imperfective vs preterite when describing the lives of people who have died

A G.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Imperfective vs preterite when describing the lives of people who have died

My inclination is to go with the imperfective when talking about someone who has died, as I think of it in terms of general description about who they were: 

“My mother was an amazing woman. She was an excellent teacher, and loved her work.”

Am I correct that the imperfect is most appropriate in this situation? Would putting a time limit trigger the preterite?

 “She was a teacher for 20 years, and loved her work.”

Asked 4 years ago
InmaKwiziq team member

Hola A

yes, you are right. The imperfect is more appropriate when talking about/describing people's lives, but if you start getting a bit more specific adding a time phrase then you can use the preterite. Sometimes, with time phrases that indicate a period of time but is not too specific we can use both. For example:

Mi padre era pintor. 

Mi padre fue/era pintor en los años 80.

Mi padre fue pintor durante 10 años/desde 1980 a 1989.

Inma

Imperfective vs preterite when describing the lives of people who have died

My inclination is to go with the imperfective when talking about someone who has died, as I think of it in terms of general description about who they were: 

“My mother was an amazing woman. She was an excellent teacher, and loved her work.”

Am I correct that the imperfect is most appropriate in this situation? Would putting a time limit trigger the preterite?

 “She was a teacher for 20 years, and loved her work.”

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