Breakdown of El manifestante iba a pintar una pancarta anoche.
una
a, an (feminine)
ir
to go
a
to
pintar
to paint
Questions & Answers about El manifestante iba a pintar una pancarta anoche.
Why is iba in the imperfect tense here when anoche usually triggers the preterite?
Great observation! While anoche (last night) refers to a specific, completed timeframe, the action we're describing is an intention ("was going to"). The imperfect iba a pintar sets the scene and tells us what their plan was at that time, without confirming if they actually completed the painting. If we used the preterite fue a pintar, it would mean they went and definitely painted it.
Does manifestante change its ending if the protester is female?
Could I literally translate "was going to paint" as estaba yendo a pintar?
No, Spanish does not use the past progressive form of ir (estaba yendo) to express intentions or future plans from a past perspective. To say "was going to [do something]", you should always use the imperfect of ir + a + infinitive, which gives us iba a pintar.
Is pancarta the standard word for any type of sign or banner?