Imperfect Subjunctive Vs Conditional
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fglorca
October 08, 2015, 03:40 PM
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.
J
uan 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.
Rusty
October 08, 2015, 04:56 PM
Nope. The subjunctive must be used.
AngelicaDeAlquezar
October 08, 2015, 04:57 PM
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.
:thinking:
Edit: Rusty replied before I posted this, but one more answer won't hurt, I think.
fglorca
October 08, 2015, 11:39 PM
Thanks so much Rusty and AngelicaDeAlquezar, I really appreciate your help.
fglorca
October 11, 2015, 03:32 PM
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.
Rusty
October 11, 2015, 04:19 PM
You would still use the subjunctive mood. Esperar que always calls for the subjunctive.
fglorca
October 11, 2015, 10:35 PM
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)?
Rusty
October 12, 2015, 05:47 AM
Yes.
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