Ask a Question

(Create a thread)
Go Back   Spanish language learning forums > Spanish & English Languages > Grammar


Quick past subjunctive question

 

This is the place for questions about conjugations, verb tenses, adverbs, adjectives, word order, syntax and other grammar questions for English or Spanish.


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old April 13, 2012, 03:45 PM
rparmst rparmst is offline
Opal
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Posts: 17
rparmst is on a distinguished road
Quick past subjunctive question

I was saying something to a friend who is Dominican and Puerto Rican yesterday, and he corrected me, but was not able to explain why. i thought I had been doing pretty well with subjunctive until his correction:

I said, "Cuando llegué, me sorprendió que las personas en el gimnasio no tuvieran cuadrito."

He said that i shoud use tenían, not tuvieran. I know he didn't misunderstand and think I said tuvieron because it was via text, and I also asked him about that... I thought that following verbs of emotion like sorprender, subjunctive is used. Could someone please clarify? (I do realize that is is rude to talk about people's lack of 6-pack abs )
Reply With Quote
   
Get rid of these ads by registering for a free Tomísimo account.
  #2  
Old April 13, 2012, 04:11 PM
micho's Avatar
micho micho is offline
Pearl
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: España
Posts: 127
Native Language: español
micho is on a distinguished road
No entiendo lo de "cuadrito". No tiene significado en España en este contexto. ¿Se refiere a identificación? ¿A tablas de ejercicios? ¿otra cosa...?
De todas formas la construcción de la frase me parece completamente correcta, pero me gustaría saber lo que es el "cuadrito".

Last edited by micho; April 13, 2012 at 04:17 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old April 13, 2012, 04:26 PM
AngelicaDeAlquezar's Avatar
AngelicaDeAlquezar AngelicaDeAlquezar is offline
Obsidiana
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Mexico City
Posts: 9,038
Native Language: Mexican Spanish
AngelicaDeAlquezar is on a distinguished road
@rparmst: I do agree with your subjunctive there and with the reason you give to use it.

Perhaps you meant "...que las personas en el gimnasio no tuvieran cuadritos", as you're talking about "six cuadritos" not only one.


@Micho: Creo que se refiere a la forma de los músculos abdominales que se obtiene haciendo mucho ejercicio ("six pack abs"). No sé en otros países; en México se llama "estómago/abdomen de lavadero".
__________________
Ain't it wonderful to be alive when the Rock'n'Roll plays...
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old April 13, 2012, 04:31 PM
wrholt's Avatar
wrholt wrholt is offline
Sapphire
 
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Posts: 1,401
Native Language: US English
wrholt is on a distinguished road
Quote:
Originally Posted by rparmst View Post
I thought that following verbs of emotion like sorprender...
Our non-native-speaker judgements of what is and what is not a "verb of emotion" are not always reliable.

I don't have reliable information about "sorprender". I just got through looking through the subjunctive section in a good grammar I have, and I didn't see any comments about "sorprender"; however, there was a comment about "quejarse" = to complain, and a claim that it is usually followed by the indicative and not the subjunctive.

As I'm not aware of any studies into the topic (I have very little formal training in linguistics), all I can do is make a guess, which may well be completely wrong.

When one complains about something, one is asserting the reality of that about which one is complaining. Subjunctive is NOT the mood of asserting the reality of something; rather, it's the mood of ignoring whether something is real or not.

For your Dominican/Puerto Rican friend, the situation with "sorprender" may be similar; I would guess that one is surprised by something that exists or is real, and when one talks about it one asserts the existence or reality of that which one found surprising, and once again subjunctive is NOT the mood of asserting the reality of something.
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old April 13, 2012, 05:56 PM
aleCcowaN's Avatar
aleCcowaN aleCcowaN is offline
Diamond
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Posts: 3,127
Native Language: Castellano
aleCcowaN is on a distinguished road
Quote:
Originally Posted by rparmst View Post

I said, "Cuando llegué, me sorprendió que las personas en el gimnasio no tuvieran cuadrito."
Your use of subjunctive is impeccable. Surprise, emotions and all that -absurd in my opinion- subjunctive trickery English speakers use in order to learn have nothing to do here. You can say it two ways:

"Cuando llegué, me sorprendió que las personas en el gimnasio no tuvieran cuadrito."

where subjunctive is used just to describe and refer what (the specific thing) surprised you when you arrived, or

"Cuando llegué, me sorprendió que las personas en el gimnasio no tenían cuadrito."

a more primitive approach where you describe yourself as a traveller that arrives and describes what he sees in real time -all referred to the past-. This last approach is more colloquial and it's almost the only approach people with little education use in such situations, specially those who are in contact with native languages that have no subjunctive and resort to tricks to convey those notions.
__________________
[gone]
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old April 13, 2012, 06:18 PM
micho's Avatar
micho micho is offline
Pearl
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: España
Posts: 127
Native Language: español
micho is on a distinguished road
Quote:
Originally Posted by AngelicaDeAlquezar View Post
@rparmst: I do agree with your subjunctive there and with the reason you give to use it.

Perhaps you meant "...que las personas en el gimnasio no tuvieran cuadritos", as you're talking about "six cuadritos" not only one.


@Micho: Creo que se refiere a la forma de los músculos abdominales que se obtiene haciendo mucho ejercicio ("six pack abs"). No sé en otros países; en México se llama "estómago/abdomen de lavadero".
Tabletas como las tabletas de chocolate.
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old April 14, 2012, 07:15 AM
AngelicaDeAlquezar's Avatar
AngelicaDeAlquezar AngelicaDeAlquezar is offline
Obsidiana
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Mexico City
Posts: 9,038
Native Language: Mexican Spanish
AngelicaDeAlquezar is on a distinguished road
Quote:
Originally Posted by micho View Post
Tabletas como las tabletas de chocolate.
¡Gracias!
__________________
Ain't it wonderful to be alive when the Rock'n'Roll plays...
Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
subjunctive

 

Link to this thread
URL: 
HTML Link: 
BB Code: 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Site Rules

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Quick Simple Question funkcanna Grammar 4 August 10, 2011 08:18 AM
Quick subjunctive question PieMage Practice & Homework 2 July 10, 2011 08:26 AM
Quick question about haber + past participle PieMage Practice & Homework 6 June 25, 2011 07:40 AM
Quick question ! aurae Translations 2 December 04, 2009 12:36 AM
quick question about al pogo Grammar 4 September 20, 2006 09:48 AM


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 09:55 AM.

Forum powered by vBulletin® Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.

X