Impersonal expressions Flashcards
What is used with most impersonal expressions?
The subjunctive (wish, doubt, emotion, unreality, etc.)
bastar
to be enough
ex: Bastaba que yo le explicara las cosas solo una vez
It was enough for me to explain things to him only once
convenir
to be advisable
ex: Conviene que aprenda por lo menos algunas frases.
It is advisable that she learn at least a few phrases
parecer mentira
to seem incredible, impossible
ex: Parecía mentira que Yoli hubiese olvidado tan pronto todo lo que hice por ella
It seemed incredible that Yoli had forgotten so soon everything that i did for her
poder ser
to be possible
Puede ser que Eduardo no sepa que se canceló la reunión
It is possible that Eduardo doesn’t know that the meeting was canceled
¡Que lástima!
What a pity!
¡Que lástima que Betty no hable español!
What a pity that Betty doesn’t speak Spanish
ser bueno
to be a good thing
Sería bueno que le enviaras un mensaje de texto
It would be a good thing for you to send him a text message
ser difícil
to be unlikely
Es difícil que encontremos pasajes de avión
It is unlikely that we will find plane tickets
ser dudoso
to be doubtful
ser extraño
to be strange
ser importante
to be important
ser necesario, ser preciso
to be necessary
ser (una) lástima
to be a pity
ser (im)posible
to be (im)possible
ser preferible
to be better, preferable
ser (im)probable
to be (un)likely
ser urgente, urgir
to be urgent
valer más
to be better
valer la pena
to be worthwhile
What construction do you use when the speaker wishes to place the emphasis on the person rather than on the action?
combine an indirect object pronoun and an infinitive
ex: Me bastaba explicarle las cosas
It was enough for me to explain things
What are five impersonal expressions that take the indicative when positive? When do they take the subjunctive?
- ser cierto- it’s true
- ser evidente- it’s evident
- ser verdad- to be true
- ser un hecho- to be fact
- estar claro- to be clear
They take the subjunctive when used negatively (ex: no es cierto)
How should you use the construction “No ser que… sino que…”?
to deny the reality of the main verb and use the subjunctive
“It’s not that… but rather…”
ex: No es que me gusta (gustar) el cafe, sino que el cafe me mantiene despierto
It’s not that I like (1st verb- denied) coffee, but rather that coffee keeps me awake
