Problem understanding when to use the imperfect or imperfect?
Hi, I’d be very grateful if someone could help with these two sentences (from a text book) regarding PERFECT and IMPERFECT;
1. The President of the United States was received by the Pope today
Il Presidente degli Stati Uniti È STATO ricevuto oggi dal Papa (PERFECT)
2. The President was accompanied by his wife
Il Presidente ERA accompagnato dalla moglie (IMPERFECT)
My understanding is you use the PEREFECT when an event is finished, happened once and is finished. On the other hand, the IMPERFECT is used for events that happened more than once or perhaps with unclear start and finish times. Using these as a model, I cannot see why (2) uses the imperfect as surely both sentences refer to an event that happened once and is finished? Surely the fact that his wife accompanied him was a one-off event that is now finished and should surely use the Perfect?
Obviously missing something here so if anyone could possibly help I’d would be extremely grateful.
Thanks
Emily