Learn about using mientras with past events in Spanish
Mientras is used in time clauses that relate to past events as well as present events. For present events see Mientras with the present indicative or the present subjunctive in Spanish .
We use past tenses in the indicative with mientras when we want to express that two actions happened simultaneously. For example:
Los niños jugaron en el parque mientras los adultos nos tomábamos un café y charlábamos.The children played at the park while we adults had a coffee and chatted.
However, mientras can also be used with past tenses in the subjunctive, but the meaning will change. It no longer means "while" but "as long as/provided". They become subordinate clauses expressing a condition. In this case you can use both mientras and mientras que.
Have a look:
These sentences are talking about the past, with a condition, introduced by mientras/mientras que, for the main clause to be fulfilled.
Bear in mind that we could also use mientras/mientras que with a past tense in the subjunctive when referring to a future/hypothetical situation. In this case we normally find the conditional in the main clause, which gives that sense of future/hypothetical idea. For example:
Mientras + past tenses in the indicative = while
Mientras/mientras que + past tenses in the subjunctive = as long as
See also Mientras with the present indicative or the present subjunctive in Spanish and Siempre que/a condición de que in Spanish (subordinate conditional clauses)
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Examples and resources
Yo te habría aceptado de nuevo en casa mientras me hubieras contado la verdad.I would have accepted your return home provided you had told me the truth.
Javier sería más cariñoso con su novia mientras ella le hiciera más caso a él.Javier would be more affectionate with his girlfriend as long as she paid more attention to him.
Mientras ella reñía a su hija, nosotras mirábamos hacia otro lado.While she reprimanded her daughter, we looked the other way.
