Would someone be willing to edit this paragraph? It's part of a three page paper that is supposed to be a new chapter in Don Quixote. I don't really know when to use imperfect and when to use the preterite, or how to phrase things in Spanish.
Después de Don Quixote de La Mancha luchó Carasco y perdió, Carasco comandó Don Quixote ir a su casa. Don Quixote prometió volver a La Mancha y parar siendo un caballero errante. Tan, Don Quixote y Sancho Panza empezaron en sus viajes. Pero en la manera ellos encontraron algunas problemas.
Thanks, that is very helpful. In the second sentence I was trying to say to stop being; is that incorrect?
Yes! To stop (for variety) could also be: detener de ser / dejar de ser (more idiomatic than "parar siendo."
Sra
Sure, I can help you with that. Here's an edited version of your paragraph with explanations on using the imperfect and preterite tenses, as well as the correct phrasing in Spanish:
Después de que Don Quixote de La Mancha luchó contra Carasco y perdió, Carasco le ordenó a Don Quixote que fuera a su casa. Don Quixote prometió volver a La Mancha y dejar de ser un caballero errante. Por lo tanto, Don Quixote y Sancho Panza emprendieron sus viajes. Pero en el camino, se encontraron con algunos problemas.
Explanation:
1. "Después de que Don Quixote de La Mancha luchó..." - The use of the preterite tense (luchó) is appropriate here because it refers to a specific event in the past. It denotes that the fighting occurred and has been completed.
2. "...Carasco le ordenó a Don Quixote que fuera a su casa." - In this case, the imperfect tense (fuera) is used to express a general action or state of someone (in this case, Carasco ordering Don Quixote), without indicating a specific beginning or end.
3. "Don Quixote prometió volver a La Mancha y dejar de ser un caballero errante." - Both "volver a La Mancha" (to return to La Mancha) and "dejar de ser un caballero errante" (to stop being a wandering knight) are correctly phrased in Spanish.
4. "Por lo tanto, Don Quixote y Sancho Panza emprendieron sus viajes." - The preterite tense (emprendieron) is used because it refers to a completed action in the past. It shows that the journey started, and its starting point is clear.
5. "Pero en el camino, se encontraron con algunos problemas." - This sentence is correctly phrased to convey that during their journey, they encountered (se encontraron) some problems. The verb "encontrarse" is reflexive (using "se") to indicate that they encountered the problems without specifying who or what caused them.
I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any further questions.