Question 1

Doesn't nadamos mean "we swim" in the present tense?

Accepted Answer

Yes! For regular verbs ending in -ar, the "we" form is exactly the same in both the present tense and the preterite (simple past) tense. We know it means "we swam" here because the sentence includes ayer (yesterday).

Question 2

Why use estaba (from estar) instead of era (from ser) to say "was"?

Accepted Answer

In Spanish, we use estar to talk about temporary states, physical conditions, or locations. A beach being full of people is a condition that changes, so it requires estar. If we used ser, it would describe a permanent characteristic of the beach.

Question 3

Why is "was" translated with the imperfect tense (estaba) instead of the simple past (estuvo)?

Accepted Answer

The imperfect tense is used to set the scene or describe a background condition in the past. You are describing what the beach was like while you were there, rather than a sudden event or a completed action with a clear end.

Question 4

Why doesn't donde have an accent mark over the "o"?

Accepted Answer

Question words only get an accent mark (like dónde) when they are actually asking a direct or indirect question. In this sentence, donde is just a connecting word meaning "the place where," so it is written without the accent.

La playa donde nadamos ayer estaba llena.

Breakdown of La playa donde nadamos ayer estaba llena.

Questions & Answers about La playa donde nadamos ayer estaba llena.

Learn La playa donde nadamos ayer estaba llena and more in Spanish