Since Spanish is my second language, much of what I learn of Italian happens through Spanish, even though English is my native language. I thought I would open this thread to help distinguish some of the principle differences which often confuse us hispanohablantes.
One thing I've noticed in the short amount of time that I've been studying Italian is that the so called "preterit Perfect" takes the place of the simple preterit in most occasions. This is a little hard for me to grasp, since in Spanish, these two tenses have different meanings.
For example, in Spanish I would say "he trabajado todo el día" (I have worked all day), which implies that I am still working. Let me gamble a translation to Italian: "ho laborato tutto il giorno" (passato prossimo). Yet, I can also say "trabajé todo el día" (I worked all day), which implies that I have stopped. So, in Italian would the "passato remoto" be used "lavorai tutto il giorno"...?
Grazie mille a voi,
Joseph