Spanish language Q&A Forum

This seems like a completed action, or at least a completed period of time:  

Él no veía nada antes de la operación.

Why do we use the imperfect here?

Thanks.

Hola,

Is there a reason why "cuento" cannot be used for "story."

My translator says that "cuento" is used for a fictional tale and "historia" is used for a narrative account. I always thought that they were more or less interchangeable.

Kind Regards

John

For example: We were in Brazil with friends could easily also use estabamos, if it were the setting for when something happened:

Estábamos en Brasil con amigos cuando ella murió

La semana pasada, estuvimos en Brasil con amigos

Hi, is despertar (Desperté) ever used for “I woke up”? I’ve seen it that way on some dictionary sites and wondered if it’s a mistake. Eg:

Many thanks, 

Shirley. 

Hi, can I say una bolsa is a handbag as well as un bolso? 

In the A0 lesson "Expressing dates in Spanish" the definite article is used: "El 7 de febrero de 1986", but in this lesson it isn't: "Hoy es 25 de septiembre". Is the definite article only used when the date isn't preceded by "ser"?