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Acampábamos cuando este lobo nos asustó.

Acampábamos cuando este lobo nos asustó.
We were camping when this wolf scared us.
From Lesson 113:Preterite vs. imperfect·Spanish (Latin America)

Breakdown of Acampábamos cuando este lobo nos asustó.

nos
to us
acampar
to camp
este
this
cuando
when (statement)
el lobo
wolf
asustar
to scare

Questions & Answers about Acampábamos cuando este lobo nos asustó.

Why use the imperfect tense for acampábamos instead of the preterite?
Acampábamos means "we were camping." In Spanish, the imperfect tense is used to describe a background action that was already in progress. It sets the scene for the story.
Why is asustó in the preterite tense?
Asustó means "scared." We use the preterite tense here because the wolf scaring us was a sudden, completed event that interrupted the camping. A classic storytelling pattern in Spanish is [Imperfect background] cuando [Preterite interruption].
Why does nos come before the verb asustó?
Nos is the object pronoun meaning "us." In Spanish, these pronouns are placed directly before the conjugated verb, so the sentence literally says "...when this wolf us scared."
Why is the word for "this" este instead of esto?
Since lobo (wolf) is a masculine, singular noun, you must use este. Esto is a neutral word used only for abstract ideas or unknown objects (like saying "What is this?"), never right next to a specific noun.
Why is there an accent mark on acampábamos?
For the nosotros (we) form in the imperfect tense, you always add an accent mark to the vowel right before -mos (like -ábamos or -íamos). This makes sure your voice stresses the correct syllable when speaking.

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