Breakdown of Costó aparcar cerca del restaurante porque había mucha gente en la zona peatonal.
en
in
porque
because
cerca de
near
hay
there is/are
Questions & Answers about Costó aparcar cerca del restaurante porque había mucha gente en la zona peatonal.
Why does costó mean it was difficult here instead of it cost?
In Spanish, costar can mean both:
- to cost in the money sense
- to be difficult / to take effort
With an infinitive, it often means to be hard to do something:
- Costó aparcar = It was hard to park
- Me cuesta levantarme temprano = It’s hard for me to get up early
So in this sentence, costó is not about price; it expresses difficulty.
Why is it costó aparcar and not something like costó aparcando?
After costar in this meaning, Spanish normally uses an infinitive:
Spanish does not usually use the gerund here the way English sometimes uses -ing forms. So aparcar is the natural form after costó.
Why is costó in the preterite, not costaba?