When to conjugate a verb? - Page 2

Thaks. Rusty

Thaks? Are you hitting Rusty? Again? :rolleyes:

Hitting Rusty or hitting on him?:D

:eek:

Sorry, Rusty, couldn't help it. It was too easy...;)

"el querer amar y no poder amar es el tema favorito de los poetas" :D

No lo pillo, Sosia. Debe ser porque me acosté muy tarde y estoy un poco espesa.

What's the difference? Sure to hit on somebody is something awfully diseased. ;)

to hit someone = pegarle/golpearle a alguien
to hit on someone = seducirle a alguien

el espeso soy yo. Leí la nota de alfonso:
y al ser el último post de la página no miré si habia más posts/páginas.
Por eso respondí:
"el querer amar y no poder amar es el tema favorito de los poetas"
por el doble infinitivo :D

You've got it, Sosia, but notice that in your phrase, actually, both verbs are nouns. They are the subject of a sentence. The verb is es.


There could be two infinitives taking part on a verbal periphrasis when they depend on verbs like gustar, or on verbs of wish (we say in Spanish verbos de deseo), or on language verbs (decir, afirmar, negar...):

• Me gustaría poder volar.
• Deseo poder volar.
• Dijo poder volar (although it's much more common to say: dijo que podía volar).

I'm not sure what we were looking for, but, as the subject of the thread was if to conjugate the verb or not, I assumed only periphrasis were looked for. Of course, if there is not a personal subject, you can't conjugate a verb, so it's not a verb itself, but a noun (in the case of an infinitive) or an adjective (in the case of a participle). Anyway, Sosia, I'm only excusing myself... You've got it :thumbsup:.

(Excuse the spelling, as I'm in a library, in Toledo (Spain), and I don't have my marvellous iespelling to check what I wrote).

You don't need to excuse. My example it's a little "forced" one, because, as you say, they "work" as nouns.
It's not usual to speak that way. But it suddlendly appeared when I read your phrase. :D
I'm not the grammar type, I always try to avoid grammar threads :D :D

Con la ortografía, no hay problemas. ¡Bien hecho! :thumbsup:

(En EEUU, marvellous se deletrea marvelous.)

Thanks a lot for your corrections and information, Rusty. We also say in Spanish verbos volitivos / verbos de deseo.