podia vs podría

Steven-W15

October 6, 2015

En los Estados Unidos yo podría comprar una tortilla o masa en el supermercado.In the United States I could buy a tortilla or the dough in the supermarkets.

In this phrase, Alejandra is talking about her previous experience in the US. Shouldn't this be then "...podía comprar..."?

KelllaurBailar

October 6, 2015

From what I can tell, "podía" is in the past imperfect tense, so if she was speaking about her past in the US, I think you've got that one:).

Robert-C7

October 6, 2015

If you say "yo podía comprar", that would imply that I use to buy and I had done so in the past. Saying "yo podría comprar" implies that I could buy without implying that I had done so in the past. Perhaps conditional tense is a better choice when talking about hypothetical situations.

ricardo-rich

October 6, 2015

Hola a todos,

I was about to offer my take on this and then Robert's reply appeared. I agree it should be in the conditional as per his explanation..

Saludos,
Ricardo

Steven-W15

October 7, 2015

Gracias, amigos. Es muy claro ahora.

Dan-H24

October 7, 2015

Sí una explicación exelente de Roberto. Me acuerdo también.

KelllaurBailar

October 7, 2015

Ah, Robert and Ricardo are always right on! ;)

podia vs podría

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