Question 1

Why is quise translated as "tried" instead of "wanted"?

Accepted Answer

In Spanish, state verbs like querer often shift their meaning depending on whether you use the preterite or the imperfect past tense. If we used the imperfect (quería), it would simply describe an ongoing desire in the past ("I wanted to"). Because we used the preterite (quise), it shows that a specific action was taken in that moment to fulfill the desire, which translates to "I tried to."

Question 2

What is the difference between using averiguar and using saber in the preterite here?

Accepted Answer

While both can translate to "finding out," averiguar specifically implies an active investigation, like "to figure out" or "to do research." The lesson's other focus word, saber, means "found out" when used in the preterite (supe), but it usually implies receiving news or having a sudden realization rather than doing the detective work yourself.

Question 3

Why isn't there a no before confesó? Don't we use double negatives with words like nadie?

Accepted Answer

You only need a double negative (like no confesó nadie) if the negative word comes after the verb. Because nadie (nobody) is placed before the verb in this sentence, it already makes the action negative. Adding no here would be grammatically incorrect.

Question 4

I remember confesar having a stem change. Why is it just confesó here?

Accepted Answer

You are right that confesar has a stem change in the present tense (for example, él confiesa). However, for -ar and -er verbs, those stem changes never carry over to the preterite tense. It conjugates entirely as a regular verb in this past tense.

Yo quise averiguar el engaño, pero nadie confesó.

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