Question 1

Why is entendía in the imperfect tense here instead of the preterite (entendí)?

Accepted Answer

Entendía describes an ongoing state of mind or a background situation in the past, meaning "I was not understanding." If you used the preterite (entendí), it would sound like a sudden, completed failure to understand a specific point, rather than a continuous feeling.

Question 2

Since this lesson is about the past perfect, could we say no había entendido nada instead?

Accepted Answer

You could, but it changes the timeline. No había entendido nada means "I had not understood anything" up to that point, which works perfectly if you are about to talk about a later past action. The imperfect entendía here simply describes the ongoing state at that exact moment.

Question 3

Why do we need both no and nada in this sentence?

Accepted Answer

Spanish requires a "double negative" when the negative word comes after the verb. Because nada (nothing/anything) is placed after entendía, you must put no before the verb. In Spanish, it is perfectly correct to say the equivalent of "I didn't understand nothing."

Question 4

Is al principio a set phrase? Could I say en el principio?

Accepted Answer

Al principio is the standard, natural phrase for "at first" or "in the beginning" when talking about time. En el principio is rarely used in everyday conversation and sounds more biblical or poetic.

Al principio no entendía nada.

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