Question 1

Why is acababa in the imperfect tense here instead of the preterite?

Accepted Answer

The structure acabar de followed by an infinitive means to have just done something. When talking about the past, we almost always use the imperfect (acababa de) to say someone had just done something, because it describes an ongoing state or sets the background scene at that moment in time.

Question 2

Does buzo only mean diver?

Accepted Answer

In this oceanic context, el buzo means the scuba diver. However, it is a great word to know because in many Latin American countries, un buzo is also the everyday word for a sweatshirt, hoodie, or tracksuit top.

Question 3

Is inmersión the most common word for a dive?

Accepted Answer

For scuba diving, la inmersión is the standard, slightly technical term for a single dive. You will also hear el buceo, which refers more broadly to the activity or sport of diving as a whole.

Question 4

This lesson focuses on the neuter pronoun ello. How could we use it to refer back to this sentence?

Accepted Answer

If you wanted to add that the diver was relieved about what just happened, you could say y estaba aliviado por ello. We use the neuter ello here because it refers back to the entire abstract situation or proposition (the fact that he had just finished the dive), rather than a specific masculine or feminine noun.

El buzo acababa de terminar la inmersión sin descompresión.

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