§30. Completed action vs. its complements: V- le vs. shì . . . de

A V-le sentence emphasizes the completion of the action, whereas the shì . . . de pattern stresses the particular circumstances related to the action. Compare 30a and 30b. Both sentences refer to a past event of two people getting married. While 30a, with V-le, simply states that such an event did occur, 30b, in the shì . . . de pattern, stresses the time-it was last year-when the event occurred.