Imperfect or indefinite?

StuartC1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Imperfect or indefinite?

Hola,

Los mariscos en Grecia estaban riquísimos

I would have said eran riquísimos - because it's a characteristic.

Why am I wrong? :)

Gracias,

Asked 4 years ago
InmaKwiziq team memberCorrect answer

Hola Stuart,

You could actually use eran or estaban. If you use "eran" you are speaking about a quality that is "inherent" to the noun: "los mariscos eran ricos y frescos", for example. But we tend to use estar with the adjective "rico" because we generally use it when we talk about something that we taste (or tasted). It is as if you take yourself back to when you were tasting it and express how good they were at that time of tasting them. It is to do with somebody's personal opinion at the time.

An inherent quality is always going to be the case and not so much a personal opinion. 

I hope this helped clarify it.

Inma

AlanC1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

They tasted wonderful in Greece, but maybe not so good in France!

It's not a characteristic, but can depend on where you eat them!

Imperfect or indefinite?

Hola,

Los mariscos en Grecia estaban riquísimos

I would have said eran riquísimos - because it's a characteristic.

Why am I wrong? :)

Gracias,

Sign in to submit your answer

Don't have an account yet? Join today

Ask a question

Find your Spanish level for FREE

Test your Spanish to the CEFR standard

Find your Spanish level
I'll be right with you...