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A -- Grammar Explanations and Phrases > 32 11th Subjunctive: IMPERFECT Explanations > Flashcards

32 11th Subjunctive: IMPERFECT Explanations Flashcards

1
Q

Span Dict

A

IMPERFECT SUBJUNCTIVE STEM FORMULA

IMPERFECT SUBJUNCTIVE STEM IS = third person plural preterite form minus “-ron” ending

Subject Pronoun -AR Ending -IR/ER Ending
yo -ara -iera
tú -aras -ieras
él/ella/usted -ara -iera
nosotros/as -áramos -iéramos
vosotros/as -arais -íais
ellos/as/ustedes -aran -ieran

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2
Q

Infinitive Third Person Imperfect
Preterite Form Subjunctive Stem

caber cupieron cupie-

dar dieron die-

decir dijeron dije

dormir durmieron durmie-

estar estuvieron estuvie-

haber hubieron hubie-

hablar hablaron habla-

hacer hicieron hicie-

ir fueron fue

leer leyeron leye-

tener tuvieron tuvie-

A

Infinitive Third Person Imperfect
Preterite Form Subjunctive Stem

poner pusieron pusie-

preferir prefirieron prefirie

querer quisieron quisie-

saber supieron supie-

sentir sintieron sintie-

ser fueron fue-

traducir tradujeron traduje-

traer trajeron traje-

ver vieron vie-

pedir pidieron pidie-

poder pudieron pudie-

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3
Q

Imperfect Subjunctive Uses

The imperfect subject can be used to talk about
1  past occurrences, 
2 current opinions of past events, 
3 doubts and wishes, 
4 as well as in "IF" clauses
5 polite requests.
A 
Many of the words and phrases that trigger the subjunctive fit into the acronym WEIRDO, which stands for: 
WISHES, 
EMOTIONS, 
 IMPERSONAL EXPRESSIONS,
 RECOMMENDATIONS, 
DOUBT /DENIAL,
 and OJALÁ

If the WEIRDO verb in the independent clause is in the PRETERITE or the IMPERFECT, then the subjunctive verb that follows will be IMPERFECT.

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4
Q

1 PAST OCCURENCES

I wanted you to come to my party.

A

Quise que vinieras a mi fiesta.

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5
Q

I was scared it wouldn’t rain.

I was scared it would rain

A

Tenía miedo de que no lloviera.

Tenía miedo que lloviera

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6
Q

I was going to lend him money so he could buy a coat.

A

Le iba a prestar dinero para que se comprara un abrigo.

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7
Q
  1. CURRENT OPINIONS OF PAST EVENTS
A

The imperfect subjunctive can also be used to express current emotions, doubts, etc. about something that happened in the past.

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8
Q

It’s good that he got married.

A

Es bueno que él se casara

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9
Q

It doesn’t seem to me that the journey was long.

A

No me parece (3rd Sing Indic) que el viaje fuera largo.

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10
Q

I do not think that they were right

A

No creo que tuvieran razón.

No creo que ellos tuvieran razón.

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11
Q

3.DOUBTS AND WISHES

A

It’s common to see ojalá or ojalá que used with the imperfect subjunctive to express the idea of hoping for something that is unlikely to happen or is impossible.

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12
Q

I wish my brother (were?) was getting married.

A

Ojalá mi hermano se casara.

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13
Q

I wish it were snowing in Panama.

A

Ojalá que nevara/nevase en Panamá.

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14
Q

4.IF CLAUSES

A

When preceded by si (if), the imperfect subjunctive is often used to talk about hypotheticals. Note that the other verb in these constructions is in the conditional.

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15
Q

If I were rich, I would travel all over the world.

A

Si yo fuera rico, viajaría por todo el mundo.

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16
Q

I would paint more often if I had more time.

A

Pintaría más a menudo si tuviera/tuviese más tiempo.

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17
Q

5.POLITE SUGGESTIONS AND REQUESTS

A

The imperfect subjunctive can be used to make very polite suggestions or formal requests.

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18
Q

I would like two weeks of vacation.

A

Quisiera dos semanas de vacaciones.

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19
Q

What is the Spanish Imperfect Subjunctive?

A

Clozemaster

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20
Q

The imperfect subjunctive tense is very often used in Spanish. This tense is also known as the Spanish past subjunctive, but its real name is the preterite imperfect tense of the subjunctive mood.

A

The word “preterite” means past and the word “subjunctive” denotes mood. The subjunctive does not express time. It reveals the point of view of a speaker. That’s why you’ll notice that the Spanish imperfect subjunctive is often used to express a point of view in the past.

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21
Q

The first step to understanding this past subjunctive tense is understanding the present subjunctive. This is because the imperfect subjunctive is basically used to express the same subjectivity as the present subjunctive, except in the past.

A

Since it is in the past, the main difference is the timing. So learning more about the present subjunctive before you get into the nitty and gritty of how to use the imperfect subjunctive is something you might want to do.

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22
Q

There are some basic rules used to form the imperfect subjunctive. In an imperfect sentence,

A

-what will mainly change is the verb.

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23
Q

I’d like two books, please.

A

Quisiera dos libros, por favor.

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24
Q

In this sentence, the verb is querer.

A

Conjugating querer into quisiera is what makes this sentence an imperfect subjunctive example.

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25
Q

When to use the Imperfect Subjunctive in Spanish

A

When to use the Imperfect Subjunctive in Spanish

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26
Q

IMPERFECT

Sus amigos consolaron a Pablo luego de que él PERDIERA el juego. (His friends consoled Pablo after he lost the game.)

A

Because the main verb is in the preterite and its action clearly took place after the action in the dependent clause, the imperfect tense is used to refer to the completed action.

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27
Q

Before we get into this, remember the:
Present Perfect Indicative tense - “Karl has left”
Past Perfect Indicative tense: “Karl had left”

and So running through the four subjunctive tenses yields:

PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE

“I doubt that Karl will leave / is leaving”
“Dudo que Karl salga”

PRESENT PERFECT SUBJUNCTIVE:

“I doubt that Karl has left” (NB “has” left)
“Dudo que Karl haya salido”

A

and So running through the four subjunctive tenses yields:

IMPERFECT SUBJUNCTIVE:

“I doubted that Karl would leave”
“Dudé que Karl saliera”

PAST PERFECT / PLUPERFECT SUBJUNCTIVE:

“I doubted that Karl had left” (NB “had” left)
“Dudé que Karl hubiera salido”

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28
Q
  1. Past and Present
A

The imperfect subjunctive is used when you are indicating an action in the past in the same situation where the subjunctive would be required in the present.

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29
Q

For example, look at this sentence in the present subjunctive:

Es emocionante que Maria me lea el periódico.

A

It is exciting when Maria reads the newspaper to me.

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30
Q

If you want to say the same thing but in the past, you use the imperfect subjunctive. To change something that is in the present to the imperfect subjunctive you change the verbs.

A

So you change “es” and “lea”

es → era lea → leyera

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31
Q

The sentence will now look like this:

Era emocionante que Maria me leyera el periódico

A

This now translates to:

It was exciting that Maria would read the news to me.

32
Q
  1. Expressions of Desire/Wishes or Doubt

The imperfect subjunctive is commonly used when you are trying to express a desire of something you wish to happen, or when you are expressing doubt for something you are unsure of.

A

A. Wishes

In situations where you are hoping for something to happen in Spanish, the phrase ojála que is used often. Ojála que basically means hopefully or I wish.

So, let’s say you want to say “I hope it would rain on Wednesday.” (Should this not be “I hope it will rain on Wednesday”)

33
Q

Then you would take the present sentence in spanish:

Ojalá que llueva el miércoles.

Which means:

I hope it rains on Wednesday.

A

And then you change the verb into imperfect subjunctive:

llueva → lloviera

Then you make that change in the sentence:

Ojalá que lloviera el miércoles.

34
Q

You can also use ojalá without the word que. Let’s see some examples.

¡Ojalá lloviera ahora!
(I wish it rained now!)

¡Ojala me ganara la lotería!
(I wish I won the lottery!)

A

¡Ojalá nevara!
(I wish it snowed!)

¡Ojalá pudiera descansar mañana!
(I wish I could rest tomorrow!)

35
Q

Other expressions that usually indicate your desire or wish for something include sentences that start with the following:
phrases:
Espero que…
Deseo que…

A

Quiero que…
Exigo que…
Prefiero que…
Pido que…

36
Q

B. Doubt

Expressions that usually indicate your doubt for something include sentences that start with the following phrases:

A 
Dudo que…
    No creo que…
    No estoy seguro que…
    No pienso que…
    Niego que…
37
Q
  1. Si (If) Events

The imperfect subjunctive is also used when you use an if clause when trying to explain something that is contrary-to-fact or unlikely to happen.

A

So, for example when you say:

If I worked harder, I would get promoted (What is actually said is “they would promote me”)

This would translate to:

Si trabajara más duro, me promovieran.

38
Q

This sentence is using the if clause to explain why the person cannot do something. So contrary to the fact that that person did their job, they were not promoted because they did not work hard enough. But using the if clause simplifies this sentence.

A

You can see that the two verbs in the Spanish sentence were conjugated according to the trick that I showed you above.

39
Q

AR Verbs ra - ras - ra - ramos - rais - ran

trabajar →yo trabajaRA — trabajaRAN

A

ER and IR have an “ie” at the end onto which the ra - ras - ra etc is added

Comer - com ie ron - comiera
Vivir - viv ie ron - viviera
Promover - promov ie ron → ellos promovieran

40
Q

Spanish speakers use the Spanish imperfect subjunctive in the “if clause” of these conditional sentences. The English equivalent of these unreal sentences is the second conditional.

A

In English, second conditional sentences are the ones that have a past verb in the “if clause” and the auxiliary verb “would” in the main clause. Let’s see some examples.

41
Q

If + IMPERFECT SUBJUNCTIVE
If I knew the answer,
Si supiera la respuesta,

A

WOULD CLAUSE
I would give it to you.
te la diría.

42
Q

If they offered me the job, I would accept it.

A

Si ellos me ofrecieran el trabajo, lo aceptaría.

43
Q

If I had a lot of money, I would buy a house.

A

Si tuviera mucho dinero, compraría una casa.

44
Q

If I were taller, I would enter the team.

A

Si fuera más alto, entraría al equipo.

45
Q

If you did not smoke, you would not be sick.

A

Si no fumaras, no estarías enfermo.

46
Q

Where would you live if you could live anywhere in the world?

A

¿Dónde vivirías si pudieras vivir en cualquier parte del mundo?

47
Q
  1. Que → That

When you hear people speak in Spanish, you might hear the word que a lot. The que might actually mean different things depending on where it is placed in a sentence and where the accent mark falls.

A

For this imperfect subjunctive example, the closest translation we can get to expressing que is with the word “that”.

48
Q

For instance, if you wanted to say something like “I study so that I can speak better Spanish”, the “that” would be the replacement of the word “que” when using the imperfect subjunctive.

A

The imperfect subjunctive is used in the dependent clause after you use the word “que” but only when the independent clause is in the past tense.

e.g.

49
Q

I wanted him to drink a tequila with me.

A

Yo quería que él tomara un tequila conmigo.

50
Q

As you can see, you don’t necessarily need “that” in this sentence. In fact, it sounds better without “that” in English. But in Spanish you need to use it because you are expressing the imperfect subjunctive of what you want or expect to happen.

A

When you say “I wanted him to drink a tequila with me”, you have to use the imperfect subjunctive because you want someone to do something that is not a concrete moment or thought. It is a desire or expectation that is not substantially real.

51
Q

Important: Never use the subjunctive mood to express positive opinions in Spanish. As we learned before, you can use it to express doubts or negative opinions.

A

Creí que llegaras a tiempo (incorrect Subj)
Creí que llegarías a tiempo (correct Future)
No creí que llegaras a tiempo. (correct Neg +Subj )

52
Q
  1. Being Polite

The imperfect subjunctive is also used in some polite expressions that contain Spanish modal verbs. Let’s us see!

For example:

A

I would like to attend the party.

Would translate to:

Quisiera asistir a la fiesta.

53
Q

How would you say:

Should I go with you?

The word should is the same as the verb deber. So how would you translate this sentence? Keep in mind that you need to use the imperfect subjunctive. Try writing it down and then continue to scroll down for the answer.

A

Here’s the answer:

¿Debería ir con ustedes?

54
Q

Could you bring me my purse, please?

A

¿Pudiera traerme mi cartera, por favor?

55
Q

Some set expressions that are formed with the Spanish imperfect subjunctive.

A

All of these expressions contain one of the following Spanish modal verbs: querer (want), poder (can), deber (should), parecer (seem).

56
Q

I would not like to miss that movie!

A

¡No quisiera perderme esa película!

57
Q

I would like to ask a question.

A

Quisiera hacer una pregunta.

58
Q

Could you help me?

A

¿Pudieras ayudarme?

59
Q

You should be humble.

A

Tú deberias ser humilde.

60
Q

It seems– to be– that– you don’t know
Parece–ser–que– no sabes–

what I am– talking about.
de lo que– estoy hablando.

A

Pareciera que no sabes de qué hablo.

Parece ser que no sabes de lo que estoy hablando.

61
Q

Thought Co

A

Thought Co

62
Q

Spanish has two basic tenses of the subjunctive mood in everyday use, the PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE, and the IMPERFECT SUBJUNCTIVE. (Although a future subjunctive form exists, it generally isn’t used in speech, its use being limited primarily to formal legal documents.)

A

Fortunately, knowing which tense to use is fairly easy to remember. Verbs in the subjunctive mood are typically in a part of a sentence (a dependent clause) that begins with que, which follows a verb in the indicative mood. The tense of the subjunctive verb depends on the tense of the verb in the first part of the sentence, as indicated in the following list of sentence structures.

63
Q

Present indicative verb + que + present subjunctive verb.

Future indicative verb + que + present subjunctive verb.

A

Preterite indicative verb + que + imperfect subjunctive verb.

Imperfect indicative verb + que + imperfect subjunctive verb.

Conditional indicative verb + que + imperfect subjunctive verb.

64
Q

Distinctions in the above list are often referred to as the sequence of tenses.

A

Although there are exceptions as well as instances where the subjunctive mood is used with other sentence structures, these rules take into account the vast majority of cases where the subjunctive mood is used.

65
Q

Present Indicative/Present Subjunctive

I recommend that you don’t study when you eat.

A

Recomiendo que no estudies cuando comas.

66
Q

Everything is ready for the forum to begin

A

Todo está listo para que inicie el foro.

67
Q

Indicative/Present Subjunctive

I will deny that you are my son.

A

Negaré que seas mi hijo.

68
Q

You will hope that bedtime will come. English???

A

Esperarás que llegue la hora del dormir

69
Q

Preterite Indicative/Imperfect Subjunctive

I tried to get them to understand me.

A

Intenté que ellos me entendieran.

70
Q

It was better that you got your hands dirty.

A

Era mejor que te ensuciaras las manos.

71
Q

Imperfect Indicative/Imperfect Subjunctive

Yo quería que cantaran juntos. I wanted them to sing together.

A

Yo quería que cantaran juntos.

72
Q

I was at home and hoping it would rain.

A

Estaba yo en casa y esperaba que lloviera.

73
Q

It didn’t appear that she had taken alcohol or poisonous substances.

A

No aparecía que hubiera tomado alcohol o sustancias tóxicas.

74
Q

Conditional Indicative/Imperfect Subjunctive​​

There are 10 things that women would want men to know about love.

A

Hay 10 cosas que las mujeres desearían que los hombres supieran sobre el amor.

75
Q

Who would doubt that he had a position on the Cuban team?

A

¿Quién dudaría que tuviera un puesto en el equipo cubano?

76
Q

I would never want them to take the medal from him.

A

“Nunca querría que le quitaran la medalla.

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