Un crimen perfecto 2

Spanish online reading and listening practice - level B1-B2

In part one of Un crimen perfecto we witnessed a robbery in a bar where Pablo, the waiter, was shot by the thief. Here's the second installment where the police investigate and think there's more to this than meets the eye.

This reading and listening exercise can help you practise El Pretérito Imperfecto vs. El Pretérito Indefinido, El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto, El Imperfecto Subjuntivo, and El Condicional Simple.

Exercise: Un crimen perfecto

Listen to the audio, then read the transcript. Click any phrase for the translation and links to related grammar lessons which you can add to your Kwiziq notebook to practise later.

Here are the study lists and vocabulary associated with this reader:

Text by Silvia Píriz and audio by Inma Sánchez

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Q&A Forum 2 questions, 3 answers

SherriC1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Un crimen perfecto

I am unable to find Part 1 and Part 4 of Un crimen perfecto. Can you help?

Sherri

Asked 2 months ago

Like0Answer1

InmaKwiziq team member

Hola Sherri,

If you go to Library, and click on Reading exercises, scroll down to B2 and you have all them there at the bottom.

Saludos

Inma

Like02 months ago

Sherri asked:View original

Un crimen perfecto

I am unable to find Part 1 and Part 4 of Un crimen perfecto. Can you help?

Sherri

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JenkA2Kwiziq community member

Hello. I wonder why we used the pluperfect here: "el ladrón había conseguido escapar durante la confusión que hubo en ese momento."

Is it correct to say " el ladrón conseguía escapar..." Thank you.

Asked 1 year ago

Like0Answer2

InmaKwiziq team memberCorrect answer

Hola Jenk

We are using the pluperfect in this sentence to express an action that "had happened". With "el ladrón había conseguido escapar" we are placing that action "before" the very first sentence in the dictation: "La policía no tardó mucho en llegar al bar." So, there are two actions: the first one happening is "the thief running away" [pluperfect], and the second action happening is "the police arriving". This is what the pluperfect is generally used for: to express an action in the past that takes place before another past action.

Using the imperfect here wouldn't be good, as the nature of the meaning of "to manage to escape" will not trigger the imperfect which is generally descriptive. You could use the preterite though: "el ladrón consiguió escapar durante la confusión que hubo en ese momento". This way it gives the sense of a punctual and completed action.

Hope this helps.