Learn Spanish (Latin America): Iba a explicar el malentendido, pero no me escuchaste. - I was going to explain the misunderstanding, but you didn't listen to me.

Iba a explicar el malentendido, pero no me escuchaste.

I was going to explain the misunderstanding, but you didn't listen to me.

Breakdown of Iba a explicar el malentendido, pero no me escuchaste.

Questions & Answers about Iba a explicar el malentendido, pero no me escuchaste.

Why do we use iba here instead of the preterite fui?

iba is the imperfect tense of ir (to go). When we talk about past intentions ('I was going to...'), we use the imperfect because it describes an ongoing plan or a state of mind in the past, rather than a single completed event.

iba can mean 'I was going' or 'he/she was going'. How do we know who is talking?

The imperfect forms for yo, él, ella, and usted are all exactly the same (iba). Usually, the context makes it obvious. If it isn't clear, you can just add the pronoun: Yo iba a explicar el malentendido.

Why does this sentence mix the imperfect (iba) and the preterite (escuchaste)?

This is a very common pattern! The imperfect (iba a explicar) sets the background scene: your ongoing intention. The preterite (escuchaste) is the sudden or completed action that interrupted that plan. You were going to explain, but the other person didn't listen.

Is the word malentendido made up of other Spanish words?

Yes, it is a combination of mal (badly) and entendido (understood), which is the past participle of the verb entender (to understand). Put them together as a single noun and you get 'misunderstanding'!