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Antiguamente, todo se producía de manera artesanal en el taller.

Antiguamente, todo se producía de manera artesanal en el taller.
In the past, everything was produced in an artisanal way in the workshop.
From Lesson 171:Past impersonal and passive (se)·Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about Antiguamente, todo se producía de manera artesanal en el taller.

Why is the imperfect tense (se producía) used here instead of the preterite (se produjo)?
The word antiguamente (formerly / in the past) sets the stage for describing how things used to be. Since this was an ongoing, habitual reality over a long period rather than a single completed event, we use the imperfect tense. It means everything 'used to be produced' or 'was routinely produced'.
What makes the verb producía singular in this passive sentence?
In a passive se sentence, the verb must agree with the thing being acted upon. Here, that thing is todo (everything). Even though 'everything' implies many items, the word todo itself is grammatically singular, so the verb takes the singular form producía.
Could I say artesanalmente instead of de manera artesanal?
Yes, both mean 'in an artisanal way' or 'by hand'. Using de manera or de modo followed by an adjective is a very common and natural-sounding alternative to adverbs ending in -mente in Spanish.
Is taller a false friend?
Yes! It looks exactly like the English word for height, but a taller is a workshop, studio, or repair shop. If you want to say someone is taller in Spanish, you would say más alto.

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