MP3 Audio (Lesson) | MP3 Audio (Dialog)
Nestlé, Garoto or Lacta, in Brazil the question is which chocolate brand we like the most. After today’s lesson, even if you can’t decide, you can at least explain the argument to defend one brand over another.
| A: | De qual marca de chocolate você mais gosta, lacta, garoto, ou nestlé? What brand of chocolate do you like the most, Lacta, Garoto, and Nestlé? | |
| B: | Sempre gostei do Sonho de Valsa e do Ouro Branco, então eu diria Lacta. I have always liked Sonho de Valsa (Waltz Dream), and Ouro Branco (White Gold), so I’d say Lacta. | |
| A: | É verdade esses são os melhores. You are right these are the best. | |
| B: | Mas confesso que também gosto da Serenata de Amor da Garoto. But, the truth is that I really like Serenata de Amor (Love Serenade) from Garoto too. |
When he says “I always liked Sonho de Valsa…” that sounds like continuous action in the past, so why is the past perfect form of gostar (gostei) used instead of the past imperfect (gostava)?
Super question, almost always these types of questions can be answered with “they are both right, depending on what you are thinking.” With ‘sempre gostei’ the speaker is thinking of the event as something that happened in the past, and the telling of it is the focus of the action. With ‘sempre gostava’ the speaker is providing background information about some past event, but the focus of the action may be something else. If you make that division, it usually helps: gostei – talking about the action, gostava – giving background information for some other action that is emphasized.
For example, I’d say something like, “sempre gostava da comida da minha mãe, mas aquele dia o jantar saiu terrível.” I always liked my mom’s food, but that day the dinner was terrible. Notice that “gostava da comida” is setting the background for the main comment, ‘dinner that day was bad’
Hope that helps,
Orlando