Why are these "Subjunctive" ?

[Wahooka]

Ola todos!

I'm reading Harry Potter in Spanish, at the suggestion of one of your members.

I've come across a lot of phrases that use the subjunctive, but I'm not sure why that form is being used.

For instance:

"no habrian soportado que se supiera lo de los Potter"

and

"eran lo mas opuesto a los Dursley que se pudiera imaginar"

I thought that the subjunctive was used for phrases about doubt or a wish.

I think these examples are "imperfect subjunctive"... can someone tell me why it is used?

[Rusty]

Hola a todos

Besides doubt and denial or wishes (verbs of volition), you have emotion, impersonal expressions, recommendations and ojalá (in the WEIRDO group).
Anything contrary-to-fact, abstract or unreal is also expressed using the subjunctive.
There are several set phrases that invoke the use of the subjunctive, as well.


The first sentence is dealing with an emotion. It's main clause verb is in the conditional, so the imperfect subjunctive must be used in the secondary clause.
The second sentence deals with an imaginary or fanciful idea (unreal). Again, the main clause contains a past tense verb, so the imperfect subjunctive appears in the secondary clause.

There's an "Accent" drop-down menu above where you type so that you can select accent marks and other special characters when writing in Spanish.

[Wahooka]

Thanks Rusty!

So I'm wondering if the Imperfect Subjunctive is the exact same thing as the Past Subjunctive?

Also, some grammar books list TWO types of Imperfect Subjunctive, like type 1 and type 2... do you know why that is?

[Rusty]

The imperfect subjunctive is the name given to what some call the past subjunctive. Don't let it bother you too much. The Spanish call it el pretérito imperfecto de subjuntivo.

The imperfect subjunctive has two forms. One ends in 'ra' and the other ends in 'se'. You can choose either one. They are completely interchangeable.
If you find that only one of the forms is favored in a certain area, follow suit.

[Wahooka]

Thanks!