Can you help me understand this, please. In my answer, I used 'ayudaban' on the basis that the help given happened more than once. It was corrected to 'ayudaron'. Don't we have to assume though that the help/assistance was ongoing?
Many thanks
Trefor
Hola Trefor P
Thank you for your question! We understand the confusion, and it’s a subtle difference between the imperfect and preterite tenses. In this context, “y allí me ayudaron a superar mis miedos” uses ayudaron (pretérito indefinido) because it implies a completed action or a specific instance in the past where the help provided led to a clear outcome—overcoming your fears.
Using ayudaban (imperfecto) would imply an ongoing, habitual action without a defined end, such as if they were repeatedly helping you but not necessarily with a specific end result.
To clarify, the use of ayudaron here emphasizes that the assistance was completed successfully at that moment or over a specific period, leading to overcoming fears.
We've updated the exercise with hints to guide better on the use of imperfecto vs. pretérito indefinido to help you feel more confident about these choices in the future.
Let us know if you have any further questions!
Hasta pronto
Silvia
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