Do you say "mi abuelo PASÓ su vida entera trabajando en los campos" or "PASABA su vida" ?

Question

Do you say "mi abuelo PASÓ su vida entera trabajando en los campos" or "PASABA su vida" ?

Answer 1

Sort of depends on the context.  Generally, I think the preterite is preferable, but if you are talking about an action (spending) as being the background of the overall action, then you need the imperfect.

Thus:  pasó toda su vida trabajando.  Se jubiló a la edad de 65.

Pasaba su vida entera trabajando en los campos, mientras cambió el gobierno dos o tres veces.   Or something along those lines...Bad example of what happened during his work life, but...you should get the idea.

You might get better response to this question in the Spanish Language category.

Answer 2

They are both correct,but I prefer "pasó" .It would be better in this sentence  as it is a finished past action.