Learn Spanish (Latin America): Iba a visitarte, pero perdí las llaves. - I was going to visit you, but I lost the keys.

Iba a visitarte, pero perdí las llaves.

I was going to visit you, but I lost the keys.

Breakdown of Iba a visitarte, pero perdí las llaves.

pero

but

las

the (feminine plural)

la llave

key

to go

Questions & Answers about Iba a visitarte, pero perdí las llaves.

How does this sentence show that I didn't actually visit you?

It uses the imperfect tense of ir (iba) plus a and an infinitive (visitar). This structure, iba a, translates to "I was going to" and is used to talk about past intentions or plans. Because it's in the imperfect tense, it sets up an ongoing plan in the past, perfectly setting the stage for the pero (but) to explain why the plan failed.

Can I put the te somewhere else in the sentence?

Yes! When you have a conjugated verb followed by an infinitive, you have two options. You can attach the pronoun to the end of the infinitive, like in this sentence (iba a visitarte), or you can put it before the conjugated verb (te iba a visitar). Both mean the exact same thing.

Why is perdí in the preterite tense while iba is in the imperfect?

While iba uses the imperfect tense to describe the background scene (your ongoing plan to visit), perdí (I lost) is a sudden, one-time event that interrupted that plan. Completed, interrupting past actions like this use the preterite tense.

Why does the sentence say las llaves (the keys) instead of mis llaves (my keys)?