Question 1

What is the difference between saying "anduvo buscando" and "estuvo buscando" here?

Accepted Answer

While estuvo buscando just means she "was searching" (focusing on the duration), the structure andar + [gerund] emphasizes that the action was dispersed, repeated, or aimless. Anduvo buscando gives the specific mental image of her going around from room to room, looking in various places.

Question 2

Why is the preterite of "andar" conjugated as "anduvo" instead of "andó"?

Accepted Answer

Andar is highly irregular in the preterite tense. It uses the stem anduv-, making it rhyme with the preterites of tener (tuvo) and estar (estuvo). So, the third-person singular form is anduvo.

Question 3

Does "buscar" need the preposition "a" after it to mean "to look for"?

Accepted Answer

No, the verb buscar already means "to look for" or "to search for" all by itself. You only ever put an a after it if you are looking for a specific person or pet, which requires the "personal a". Since el monedero (the coin purse) is an inanimate object, no extra preposition is used.

Question 4

Why use "por" here instead of "en" for "all over the apartment"?

Accepted Answer

We use por to express movement through, around, or along a space. While en todo el piso would technically mean the search happened in the whole apartment, por todo el piso highlights her movement throughout the space, which pairs perfectly with the wandering nature of the verb andar.

Question 5

I learned that "piso" means "floor". Is it normally used to mean "apartment" in Spain?

Accepted Answer

Yes! While piso can mean the physical floor you walk on or a level of a building, in Spain it is also the standard everyday word for a "flat" or "apartment".

Ayer ella anduvo buscando el monedero por todo el piso.

Breakdown of Ayer ella anduvo buscando el monedero por todo el piso.

Questions & Answers about Ayer ella anduvo buscando el monedero por todo el piso.

Learn Ayer ella anduvo buscando el monedero por todo el piso and more in Spanish