WORD CLASS: PAST VERB TENSE

1. Real past tenses

1.1. Simple past (cantí / vaig cantar) in Catalan is expressed in two ways, which are absolutely alike. The first one corresponds to the synthetic form of the tense and the second one is a periphrastic construction with verb anar in present tense followed by infinitive, to express actions and events that took place punctually

La setmana passada vaig jugar futbol amb els meus amics	Last week I played football with my friends
La gent es va espantar amb l’explosió	People got scared because of the explosion

 

PAST                                                                                                         PRESENT

1.2. Present perfect (he cantat): like in English, it refers to actions and events begun in the past that still continue in the present, or whose consequences reach the present time, or when the past tense is very recent.

M’he comprat un pis nou	I’ve bought a new flat
No he pogut parlar amb ell	I haven’t been able to talk to him

Observe this difference between these two sentences:

Em van dir que eres ací	They told me you were here
M’han dit que ets ací	They’ve told me you are here

In the first example, the saying verb refers to an event no longer in force, while in the second case the event is still in force. Something similar occurs with these pair of examples, where the use of adverbials like time markers may turn up necessary:

Vaig viure a Barcelona deu anys	I lived in Barcelona for ten years
He viscut a Barcelona deu anys	I’ve lived in Barcelona for ten years

Time references tend to impose simple past or imperfect:

La setmana passada vaig veure / *veia una pel·lícula fantàstica	Last week I saw a great film
Durant la guerra, la gent no tenia /*va tenir ni pa	During the war, people didn’t even have bread
La meva àvia cantava / *va cantar com els àngels	My grandma used to sing like an angel
La meva àvia *cantava / va cantar un fado portuguès	My grandma sang a Portuguese fado.

1.3. Imperfect (cantava) refers to actions and events occurring in the past along a certain period, sometimes deemed as habits:

De jove practicava molt d’esport	As a young, I used to do a lot of sport
En Joan estudiava anglès, però ara ja no	John used to study English, but he doesn’t any longer

1.4. Pluperfect (havia cantat) refers to the past in the past, therefore it is necessary to reflect a closer past. Thus pluperfect must be used in compound and complex sentences, where another past tense is present, and which refers to closer past:

Encara jo no havia arribat quan tu vas trucar	I hadn’t arrived yet, when you called.
Vaig pensar que havien tingut una avaria amb el cotxe	I thought they had had a breakdown

2. Hypothetical Past Tense

This tense corresponds to what in traditional grammar is known as conditional tense. The uses of conditional in Catalan are not different from the neighbouring Romance languages, where in many cases the conditional tense is used with extralinguistic purposes to express politeness.

– To express advice, polite requests and invitations, like in English (would, could, might, etc.)

m’agradaria tenir una mascota	I’d like to have a pet
hauries de deixar de fumar	you should giving up smoking
vendries amb nosaltres d’excursió demà?	would you come sightseeing with us tomorrow?

– In conditional clauses, the main clause uses conditional tense

si tingués diners, em compraria un cotxe nou	If I had money, I’d buy a new car
t’ho hauria dit si ho hagués sabut	I had told you if I had known it

– In indirect speech, as the past reference of future tense (i.e. hypothetic present)

em va dir que m’esperaria a la sortida del metro	(s)he said (s)he’d wait for me at the tube exit
em pensava que seria més fàcil	I thought it’d be easier