Tener ganas de - Conjugating twice

[DeterminadoAprender]

Tengo ganas de tomar el sol. --> Why are two infinitives conjugated in this sentence? I thought you only needed to conjugate one? Is it always going to be "Tengo ganas de. . ." if I want to say "I feel like. . ."? Does the 'rule' apply if it refers to other pronouns? Does it also mean you have to conjugate "tomar"?

Gracias de antemano

[Jessica]

only one of them is conjugated, because ganas is not a conjugated infinitive of ganar (is it an infinitive? and if it is, it wouldn't be ganas, it would be gano, right?) ( I THINK )
In this sentence, I don't think you have to conjugate tomar, because tener is already conjugated.

[Rusty]

The best way to look at this sentence is to break it into two parts.
tener ganas de + tomar el sol

Now, let's examine the structure.

On the left is a verbal phrase. You don't worry about the individual pieces, but the phrase as a whole. It is translated to feel like.
Jessica was right about ganas not being an infinitive. It is a plural noun.

On the right is another verbal phrase. Again, we look at only the whole phrase.
It is translated to sunbathe.

Only the verb on the left is conjugated. When a verb (or verbal phrase) follows this particular verbal phrase, it is always left unconjugated. In English, however, it is translated as if it were an English gerund (ending in -ing).

Tengo ganas de tomar el sol. = I feel like sunbathing.
¿Tienes ganas de tomar el sol? = Do you feel like sunbathing?
Teníamos ganas de tomar el sol. = We felt like sunbathing.

[Tomisimo]

Also, the rule about one conjugated verb per sentence is wrong. It would be one conjugated verb per clause, but you can have multiple clauses in one sentence.

[Jessica]

Originally Posted by Rusty

The best way to look at this sentence is to break it into two parts.
tener ganas de + tomar el sol

Now, let's examine the structure.

On the left is a verbal phrase. You don't worry about the individual pieces, but the phrase as a whole. It is translated to feel like.
Jessica was right about ganas not being an infinitive. It is a plural noun.

On the right is another verbal phrase. Again, we look at only the whole phrase.
It is translated to sunbathe.

Only the verb on the left is conjugated. When a verb (or verbal phrase) follows this particular verbal phrase, it is always left unconjugated. In English, however, it is translated as if it were an English gerund (ending in -ing).

Tengo ganas de tomar el sol. = I feel like sunbathing.
¿Tienes ganas de tomar el sol? = Do you feel like sunbathing?
Teníamos ganas de tomar el sol. = We felt like sunbathing.

Wait, can the last sentence Teníamos ganas de tomar el sol be Tenemos ganas de tomar el sol? Because of the "we"? (Nosotr@s) tenemos ganas de tomar el sol ???

[CrOtALiTo]

Yes, it's accurate, the word Nosotros is we, we are tanking the sun, or we feel like sunbathing.


This is weir for me, We fee like sunbathing, this phrase would be translate also of this way we want take the sun. it's correct or I'm a mistake as always.

[Jessica]

But what subject would be for Teníamos? Nosotr@s? I've never seen "Teníamos" before, unless its for vosotr@s? But I don't think vosotr@s it Teníamos. It isn't.

[Rusty]

Yes, Jessica, tenemos can be used, but I conjugated tener into the imperfect tense to get the translation we felt like sunbathing. Tenemos is the present tense, so the translation would be we feel like sunbathing. You don't need the subject pronoun nosotros,-as, unless you're emphasizing the subject.

Crotalito, tomar el sol is translated as to sunbathe, but we also say to take in the sun, to soak up the sun, to lay in the sun, or to sun oneself.

Another fun way to say it is to catch some rays (this is the equivalent of coger (agarrar) el sol).

[Jessica]

oh so Teníamos is the past tense of tenemos? or wait, is it the future tense

[Rusty]

Originally Posted by jchen

oh so Teníamos is the past tense of tenemos? or wait, is it the future tense

It's the imperfect tense, one of the two past tenses.