Explain the difference in meaning between these two sentences:

1. Alberto oyo la musica de la fiesta y salio de casa.
2. Alberto oia la musica de la fiesta cuando salio de casa.

There are accents but I can't put them on here. I'm pretty sure the sentences mean 1. Alberto heard the music from the party and went home. 2. Alberto heard music from the party when he left home.
I answered that they are different because he heard the music at different times, but my teacher said that was wrong so if somebody who knows Spanish could help me I would really appreciate it! Thanks.

Hi there.

I am a Spanish Native speaker. I will be glad to explain this to you.

The first one is actually saying that Alberto heard music from the party and went outside his house. Think about this, when Alberto heard the music he could have gotten curious and went outside to hear it.
Basically, this is a past tense event.

The second one is actually saying that Alberto was listening to the music when he went outside his house.

Think about the tense. "Oyo" and "Oía".

For example:

"El oyo que su mamá le grito." [He heard that his mom yelled at him.]

"El oia que su mamá le gritaba." [He was hearing that his mom was yelling at him.]

I hope this makes it a bit clear to you.

Thank you for your question and keep up the good work.

THx Mr. Daviid!!!!!!!!!!

what? - its science for me not spanish- um am i understanding something wrong?? :/

I really need this, if anybody knows anything?

Oh. That's sad. Thanks though.

Chloe it is science for me to also idk

i dont really understand the second one...

In both sentences, the verb used is "oyó" or "oía," which means "heard" in English. However, the difference in meaning between the two sentences lies in the tenses and the conjunctions used.

1. "Alberto oyó la música de la fiesta y salió de casa."

In this sentence, the verb "oyó" is in the preterite tense, which indicates a completed action in the past. The conjunction "y" indicates a sequence of events. Therefore, the sentence translates to "Alberto heard the music from the party and went home." This implies that after hearing the music, he immediately left home.

2. "Alberto oía la música de la fiesta cuando salió de casa."

In this sentence, the verb "oía" is in the imperfect tense, which indicates an ongoing or continuous action in the past. The conjunction "cuando" indicates a relationship between the two events. Therefore, the sentence translates to "Alberto was hearing the music from the party when he left home." This implies that Alberto was already hearing the music before he left home.

So, your understanding of the sentences' meanings is correct. The first sentence expresses that Alberto heard the music at some point, and then he decided to leave home. The second sentence emphasizes that Alberto was already hearing the music before he left home.

Keeo checking back here. I hope that one of our readers is fluent in Spanish.

We just got word that our beloved long time French and Spanish tutor has died. Sorry.