Dos ejemplos de cómo completarían

[Michael30000]

Hola a todos,

La frase en cuestión es del libro Cuenta contigo de Patricia Ramírez Loeffler.

"Observa dos ejemplos de cómo completarían este último «Momento libreta» un deportista y una dependienta, y luego redacta el tuyo."

Are these two examples real or simply made up by the author to illustrate the point?

The use of "completarían" (condicional) in itself suggests to me that these two examples are made up, i.e. not real.

But there are two things that make me doubt:

1. The author is a psychologist who works with athletes and ordinary people (she says it in the book) and it would be natural to expect examples from her actual practice as psychologist, not invented/made up ones.

2. In another chapter she writes: "Finaliza diez veces la frase que empieza con "Quiero ser..." Los ejemplos que ofrezco a continuación pertenecen a personas distintas." In this case, the examples are real, aren't they?

So, taking all of the above into account, are these two examples real (dos ejemplos de cómo completarían) and if they are why is condicional used in place of the simple past (completaron)?

[Rusty]

Escrito originalmente por Michael30000

"Observa dos ejemplos de cómo completarían este último «Momento libreta» un deportista y una dependienta, y luego redacta el tuyo." ... real or simply made up?
~~~
"Finaliza diez veces la frase que empieza con "Quiero ser..." Los ejemplos que ofrezco a continuación pertenecen a personas distintas." In this case, the examples are real, aren't they?

The use of "completarían" (condicional) in itself suggests to me that these two examples are made up; i.e., not real.
So, taking all of the above into account, are these two examples real (dos ejemplos de cómo completarían) and if they are why is condicional used in place of the simple past (completaron)?

Hola,
I can't say whether the examples were based on a real event or a fictional one. Si la autora presentó algunos ejemplos en primer lugar, entonces el atleta y la dependienta completaron (no "completarían") el «Momento libreta». I believe she presented examples (real or not, no one can say), but think that the wrong mood was used in the write-up. The examples were clearly completed. It was poorly written, in my opinion.
In the second instance you spoke of, it mentions that two "different people" responded. We don't know with absolute certainty that the responses from different people were real. They could have been made up. They may have been altered to protect identity. Who knows? Using the correct mood (indicative) helped us feel more easy about our assumptions as to reality or not.

[Michael30000]

Escrito originalmente por Rusty

Hola,
I can't say whether the examples were based on a real event or a fictional one. Si la autora presentó algunos ejemplos en primer lugar, entonces el atleta y la dependienta completaron (no "completarían") el «Momento libreta». I believe she presented examples (real or not, no one can say), but think that the wrong mood was used in the write-up. The examples were clearly completed. It was poorly written, in my opinion.
In the second instance you spoke of, it mentions that two "different people" responded. We don't know with absolute certainty that the responses from different people were real. They could have been made up. They may have been altered to protect identity. Who knows? Using the correct mood (indicative) helped us feel more easy about our assumptions as to reality or not.

Thank you very much, Rusty, for your detailed answer!

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

I agree with Rusty.
As a side note, I think that, although is actually poorly written, the idea is to encourage you to say what you would have done if you were a "deportista" or a "dependienta" to answer.
If the author had said "cómo completaron", she would be asking you to perform an impossible task, which is to accurately divine how they responded. Instead, she's asking you to make some sort of exercise on empathy or affinity with those people.

[Michael30000]

Escrito originalmente por AngelicaDeAlquezar

I agree with Rusty.
As a side note, I think that, although is actually poorly written, the idea is to encourage you to say what you would have done if you were a "deportista" or a "dependienta" to answer.
If the author had said "cómo completaron", she would be asking you to perform an impossible task, which is to accurately divine how they responded. Instead, she's asking you to make some sort of exercise on empathy or affinity with those people.

Thank you very much, Angelica.