A few questions from exercise 9-2

[laepelba]

This exercise was about conjugating imperfect subjunctive, and I got that piece of every sentence correct. I have a few questions about some other things that I did not write correctly (according to the answers in the back of the book...) Any help would be appreciated!!

8) Si ella volviera a pedir, yo aceptaría la oferta.
- I wrote this exactly as you see above, which is exactly what the back of the book has as the answer. But a Peruvian friend says that it MUST be "Si ella me lo volviera a pedir...". Do you agree? Or is it just the way that she was taught?

13) Ellos practicaron para que tú escucharas un buen concierto.
- My question: I wrote "practicaban". Why is it preterit?

19) Mi amigo preferió que tú y yo no conociéramos a su hermana.
- My question: I wrote "prefería". Why is it preterit?

27) No me agradó que ella traicionara a sus colegas.
- My question: I wrote "agradaba". Why is it preterit?

Thank you for any suggestions!!

[chileno]

Originally Posted by laepelba

This exercise was about conjugating imperfect subjunctive, and I got that piece of every sentence correct. I have a few questions about some other things that I did not write correctly (according to the answers in the back of the book...) Any help would be appreciated!!

8) Si ella volviera a pedir, yo aceptaría la oferta.
- I wrote this exactly as you see above, which is exactly what the back of the book has as the answer. But a Peruvian friend says that it MUST be "Si ella me lo volviera a pedir...". Do you agree? Or is it just the way that she was taught?

13) Ellos practicaron para que tú escucharas un buen concierto.
- My question: I wrote "practicaban". Why is it preterit?

19) Mi amigo preferió que tú y yo no conociéramos a su hermana.
- My question: I wrote "prefería". Why is it preterit?

27) No me agradó que ella traicionara a sus colegas.
- My question: I wrote "agradaba". Why is it preterit?

Thank you for any suggestions!!

8) this precisely why you have to become discriminating about what anybody tell you and check it against what you know in English, as opposed to what another person says and supposedly know more or less than others...

Too many suppositories right?

Anyway, check it against your knowledge/usage of English.

Si ella volviera a pedir, yo aceptaría la oferta. - If she asked/were she ask again, I would accept the offer.

Si ella me lo volviera a pedir, ... = If she asked me for it again/were she ask for it again...

By reading in English the context, can you see the context in your mind?

What do you think now?

I am going to wait for you to tell me whether this help you or not. OK?

For the rest of your questions, the preterit was used because the action finished by the time supposedly the second action happened.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

Originally Posted by laepelba

8) Si ella volviera a pedir, yo aceptaría la oferta.
- I wrote this exactly as you see above, which is exactly what the back of the book has as the answer. But a Peruvian friend says that it MUST be "Si ella me lo volviera a pedir...". Do you agree? Or is it just the way that she was taught?
There is need for a complement for verb "pedir" in Spanish. I guess anyone would be expecting "if she asked for... what?". "Si (me) lo volviera a pedir" has already a hint on what we are talking about.

13) Ellos practicaron para que tú escucharas un buen concierto.
- My question: I wrote "practicaban". Why is it preterit?
Because the concert has already been held. If you said "practicaban", the concert didn't happen.

19) Mi amigo prefirió que tú y yo no conociéramos a su hermana.
- My question: I wrote "prefería". Why is it preterit?
There was a chance that we met his sister, but he decided we wouldn't. If you had used "prefería", we met her anyway.

27) No me agradó que ella traicionara a sus colegas.
- My question: I wrote "agradaba". Why is it preterit?
Because the situation when she betrayed her colleagues happened only once. If you say "no me agradaba", then it means she betrayed them continuously and you were witness of it.

Comments above

[laepelba]

Chileno - sorry, but I'm trying not to memorize lists of things that are the same as English and things that are different from English. I just want to understand the Spanish. I know your way is different, but that for me, I need to avoid the comparisons to English. My Peruvian friend is extremely well educated in her own language, so I trust her sense of things. If she tells me something different from someone else here, it would be a regional difference...

Malila - thanks. I totally understand the bit about "pedir" ... interesting that the answer in the book was incorrect on that. But I think that this series of books was written by native English speakers, and not Spanish speakers, so I'll bet that some of the mistakes come from that.

I still have questions about the other three problems.....

#13) Does that mean that if it's "Ellos practicaban para que tú escucharas un buen concierto" it would mean something like "they were practicing so that you can listen to a good concert (that is coming up)"?

#14) So, like 13, the use of the imperfect would imply a negation of what happened....?

#15) Without any given context whatsoever, that was what I was assuming ... that she regularly betrayed her colleagues. Would it be grammatically correct as "no me agradaba que ella traicionara a sus colegas" if it was an ongoing thing?

THANKS!!

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

Originally Posted by laepelba

#13) Does that mean that if it's "Ellos practicaban para que tú escucharas un buen concierto" it would mean something like "they were practicing so that you can listen to a good concert (that is coming up)"?
No, in that case, you should say "están practicando/practican [ahora] para que puedas escuchar un buen concierto [en el futuro]".
Otherwise, they were practicing ("practicaban") for a concert that never happened.

#14) So, like 13, the use of the imperfect would imply a negation of what happened....?
Correct.

#15) Without any given context whatsoever, that was what I was assuming ... that she regularly betrayed her colleagues. Would it be grammatically correct as "no me agradaba que ella traicionara a sus colegas" if it was an ongoing thing?
Yes.

Some answers above.

[laepelba]

Thanks, Malila!!

[chileno]

Originally Posted by laepelba

Chileno - sorry, but I'm trying not to memorize lists of things that are the same as English and things that are different from English. I just want to understand the Spanish. I know your way is different, but that for me, I need to avoid the comparisons to English. My Peruvian friend is extremely well educated in her own language, so I trust her sense of things. If she tells me something different from someone else here, it would be a regional difference...

Malila - thanks. I totally understand the bit about "pedir" ... interesting that the answer in the book was incorrect on that. But I think that this series of books was written by native English speakers, and not Spanish speakers, so I'll bet that some of the mistakes come from that.

No problem. But in no way I am trying for you to memorize lists of things that are the same in English, why would you? If they are the same you know them, and there's nothing to be learned, much less memorized.

Then , I would like your extremely educated friend to explain to me, through you and Angélica, who's also very knowledgeable in Spanish grammar, what I am going to post after the quote where Angélica answer you.

Originally Posted by laepelba
8) Si ella volviera a pedir, yo aceptaría la oferta.
- I wrote this exactly as you see above, which is exactly what the back of the book has as the answer. But a Peruvian friend says that it MUST be "Si ella me lo volviera a pedir...". Do you agree? Or is it just the way that she was taught?
There is need for a complement for verb "pedir" in Spanish. I guess anyone would be expecting "if she asked for... what?". "Si (me) lo volviera a pedir" has already a hint on what we are talking about.

I might be wrong, but this is about context. I know that "si me lo volviera a pedir" is correct.

What there might be happening is that it is being assumed the person asking, asked "me" in this case. Why?

It is perfectly correct, save my ignorance of Spanish grammar the following situation/context.

A woman asks a group a men if anyone wants to dance with her, to which one of the men accepts. While they are dancing, I whisper in my friend's ear, If she asks again, I will accept or I she asks for it again, I will accept.


Si ella vuelve a pedir, acepto or si ella lo vuelve a pedir, acepto.

I think both are correct. But from thinking to being correct... (there's a stretch).



I hope it helps, and please don't be mad, but try, at least, to look where I am pointing at, instead of dismissing my advice.

[laepelba]

Not mad, just trying to avoid trying to remember where things are parallel to English and where they are not. I want to just learn the Spanish. In this case, to remember that what someone is asking FOR with "pedir" needs to be stated. I didn't mean that my friend is good at explaining (she doesn't like explaining grammar), it's just that I trust her Spanish to be grammatically correct because she is educated in a branch of education that required her to use correct grammar extensively in her writing and research.

[chileno]

Originally Posted by laepelba

Not mad, just trying to avoid trying to remember where things are parallel to English and where they are not. I want to just learn the Spanish. In this case, to remember that what someone is asking FOR with "pedir" needs to be stated. I didn't mean that my friend is good at explaining (she doesn't like explaining grammar), it's just that I trust her Spanish to be grammatically correct because she is educated in a branch of education that required her to use correct grammar extensively in her writing and research.

And again, this not about remembering things that are or are not parallel with another language.

When I ask you to look at the English counterpart I want you to look at what makes sense in English so you can understand there is an equivalent, and that it is said exactly the same, or not in Spanish. You don't have to memorize. As you progress you just say things that make sense in English and you say things in Spanish, which might or might not have an exact equivalent in the other language.

At this time, I am not even talking to you, rather to others that might be reading this, and might help them.

Now, if you read this and it helped you, better!

[Luna Azul]

8) Si ella volviera a pedir, yo aceptaría la oferta.
- I wrote this exactly as you see above, which is exactly what the back of the book has as the answer. But a Peruvian friend says that it MUST be "Si ella me lo volviera a pedir...". Do you agree? Or is it just the way that she was taught?

I'll intervene in just this part of the question because Malila's explanation was correct and thorough

In my opinion your Peruvian friend is correct, but then I think that the pronoun "me" is not essential because, among other things, we're not sure if she was asking me or asking in general. So, I'd say the correct sentence is "Si ella lo volviera a pedir".

Your sentence, which in agreement with the book, is not terribly incorrect but it sounds clumsy and is missing something.

My two cents