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Imperfect Subjunctive Vs ConditionalThis is the place for questions about conjugations, verb tenses, adverbs, adjectives, word order, syntax and other grammar questions for English or Spanish. |
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#1
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Imperfect Subjunctive Vs Conditional
Is it possible to replace the imperfect subjunctive with the standard conditional tense in any of the examples below?
John hoped that we would win our match. Juan esperaba que ganáramos nuestro partido. (ganaríamos) Mary hoped that we would ring him. María esperaba que le llamáramos. (llamaríamos) His girlfriend gave me the money so that I would buy a new tracksuit. Su novia me dio el dinero para que comprara un chándal nuevo. (compraría) Many thanks in advance. |
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#2
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Nope. The subjunctive must be used.
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#3
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The first two examples might sometime be heard with the conditional, but most people I know would find it awkward, because "esperar que" is an immediate call for the subjunctive.
In the third example the subjunctive can never be replaced by the conditional. - Juan creía que ganaríamos. - María pensaba que la llamaríamos. But: - Juan deseaba que ganáramos. - María quería que la llamáramos. The only time I can think of when the subjunctive and the conditional can be put in the same place of a sentence, the meaning changes: - María nos dijo que la llamáramos. -> She demanded that we called her. - María nos dijo que la llamaríamos. -> She was certain that we would call her. Edit: Rusty replied before I posted this, but one more answer won't hurt, I think.
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♪ ♫ ♪ Ain't it wonderful to be alive when the Rock'n'Roll plays... ♪ ♫ ♪ Last edited by AngelicaDeAlquezar; October 09, 2015 at 07:41 AM. Reason: Fixed grammar. |
#4
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Thanks so much Rusty and AngelicaDeAlquezar, I really appreciate your help.
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#5
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Sorry guys, just another quick question on this:
Juan esperaba que ganáramos nuestro partido. John hoped that we would win our match. John felt this way last Monday about a football match that took place last Thursday (i.e. both verbs here involve actions in the past). Could we use the conditional (ganaríamos) if the match is not due to be played until next week (i.e. the match has not actually taken place yet) or does esperar que always imply the use of the subjunctive? Once again, many thanks in advance. |
#6
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You would still use the subjunctive mood. Esperar que always calls for the subjunctive.
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#7
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Thank you, Rusty. Would the same apply to all the typical verbs of influence and other expressions that automatically take the imperfect subjunctive (querer que, preferir que, pedir que, no creer que, etc.) regardless of when the action took place (past or conditional future)?
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#8
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Yes.
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