Absolute past The Verb and the Verb Phrase English-Spanish Tense and aspect. The Past Tense(s). Translation possibilities. EC 3rd year English. R. Rabadán 2006 Rabadán 2005ª (RCEI, 51) & Rabadán 2005b (Meta 50:4) • The vast majority of English Simple Past Tenses (over 70%) are transferred into Spanish by means of a pretérito, which is consistent with the non-marked meaning of past event, as llegó and regresamos in • 5P. We lived in South Africa during the war," William Tembe explains, "but we moved back to Mozambique to farm when peace came." • Durante la guerra vivíamos en Sudáfrica, pero cuando llegó la paz regresamos a Mozambique para trabajar en el campo», me cuenta William. Anaphoric past • Always by an imperfecto in Spanish Anticipatory past • • 29P. The things he owned showed it too. Sus posesiones lo demostraban. • By a condicional or modal constructions His men would have the truck surrounded within minutes. Langdon was not going anywhere. Sus hombres tendrían rodeado el camión en cuestión de minutos. Langdon no podía ir demasiado lejos. Hypothetical Habit in the past • ‘Hypothetical’ cases happen mostly in conditional contexts. This use of the English simple past may be conveyed in Spanish by a conditional tense [22P] or a subjunctive, • It could set precedents that resulted in a proliferation of the unilateral and lawless use of force • Podría sentar precedentes que tendrían como consecuencia la proliferación del uso de la fuerza unilateral e ilegal. • 44P. I think I know why Father Martin suggested it would be helpful if I began writing again. • Entiendo por qué el padre Martin me aconsejó que empezara a escribir otra vez. • This function is perfectly marked by the adverb ‘always’, which is also the key to the translated imperfecto in 81P below. • Such letters always meant disciplinary trouble • Cartas como aquella significaban problemas disciplinarios indefectiblemente. 1 Irrealis • • • By a subjunctive imperfecto or condicional For some days after John Kerry conceded, Democrats were telling me that the vote may have been rigged Durante los días posteriores a que John Kerry reconociera la derrota, varios demócratas me dijeron que era posible que la votación hubiera estado arreglada. Mereological progressive • By the periphrasis which is closest in meaning to the English text in the imperfecto. • Walking beside her, Langdon was already feeling the tingle of anticipation that accompanied his face-to- face reunions with great works of art. • A su lado, Langdon ya empezaba a notar ese cosquilleo de impaciencia que siempre le invadía momentos antes de ponerse frente a las grandes obras de arte. (43_prACTRES) Progressive • The progressive past can be translated by an imperfecto or a periphrastic form also in the imperfect. • By 13 September, the Germans had contained the landing and were threatening to drive a wedge between the British and American corps with an armour attack. • A pesar de ello, el 13 de septiembre los alemanes habían contenido el avance aliado. Sus formaciones amenazaban con clavar una cuña entre los cuerpos de ejército británico y estadounidense, mediante un nuevo ataque de combate. (1_prACTRES) • The embassy's night operator was reading Time magazine's International Edition when the sound of her phone interrupted. • La telefonista de guardia aquella noche estaba leyendo la revista Time cuando le interrumpió el sonido del teléfono. (41_prACTRES) 2