Imperfect Subjunctive

[betsysimpkins]

Ayudenme por favor!

We are testing on imperfect subjunctive and I'm trying to decide which of the following is MORE correct and...why?

Yo no sabia que a ella le gustaba bailar.

vs.

Yo no sabia que a ella le gustara bailar.

[CrOtALiTo]

Hello I hope that my help can help you.
Perhaps I don't be good with the Spanish, but anyway I will try.

I believe that in the first choice is more correct that the second ones.

Yo no sabia que a ella le gustaba bailar.

I hope that someone more experimented can help you with your doubt.

[bobjenkins]

Originally Posted by betsysimpkins

Ayudenme por favor!

We are testing on imperfect subjunctive and I'm trying to decide which of the following is MORE correct and...why?

Yo no sabia que a ella le gustaba bailar.

vs.

Yo no sabia que a ella le gustara bailar.

Creo que la primera oración es mejor.

Quizás en algo así se debe usar el subjuntivo imperfecto,

Me gustaba que le gustara bailar a ella.

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by betsysimpkins

Yo no sabia que a ella le gustaba bailar.

vs.

Yo no sabia que a ella le gustara bailar.

My dictionary suggests that both are possible, with

no sabía que + indicative or subjunctive.

The subjunctive is used with negative expressions of thinking or saying: no pensaba que fuera tan impulso, so perhaps this could also include saber.

[Vikingo]

Hi Betsy, good question.

Both sentences are correct, but with a difference in nuance. If you use "gustaba", you are explicitly declaring to your listener that the person in question liked to dance. You'll use "gustara" if you don't want or need to declare that; for example if your listener already knows it.

If this is part of a test, and one alternative is said to be "more correct", I'm afraid the author of the test just didn't know about these differences.

Good luck!

[Jessica]

welcome and good luck

[Perikles]

Thanks for pointing out the nuance. Is there a way to express an equivalent in English?

I didn't know she liked dancing
I didn't know that she might like dancing

Would you say these reflect the same difference?

[Vikingo]

I wouldn't say that the difference is equivalent, though you could probably make it work in some contexts. The "non-declarative" quality of the Spanish subjunctive is often difficult to express in English.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

I think those sentences in principle are interchangeable, but I agree there can be a slight nuance in meaning:

Yo no sabía que a ella le gustara bailar. -> This is basically a surprise.
I've known her for some time, but didn't know that she actually likes to dance. (Maybe things can change from now on, like going to dance together or something like that.)

Yo no sabía que a ella le gustaba bailar. -> This is basically a regret. I knew someone in the past and I never knew she liked to dance. (Maybe if I had known, things would have been different.)


@Betsy: Please only one thread per topic.

[chileno]

Originally Posted by AngelicaDeAlquezar

I think those sentences in principle are interchangeable, but I agree there can be a slight nuance in meaning:

Yo no sabía que a ella le gustara bailar. -> This is basically a surprise.
I've known her for some time, but didn't know that she actually likes to dance. (Maybe things can change from now on, like going to dance together or something like that.)

Yo no sabía que a ella le gustaba bailar. -> This is basically a regret. I knew someone in the past and I never knew she liked to dance. (Maybe if I had known, things would have been different.)


@Betsy: Please only one thread per topic.

Hmm to me both could denote surprise.

What I didn't know the second phrase was in subjunctive...

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by chileno

What I didn't know the second phrase was in subjunctive...

so what did you think gustara was?

[chileno]

Originally Posted by Perikles

so what did you think gustara was?

No I was talking about gustaba, as I quoted Angelica.

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by chileno

No I was talking about gustaba, as I quoted Angelica.

Ah - she has swapped them round. But she never suggested gustaba was subjunctive.

[chileno]

Originally Posted by Perikles

Ah - she has swapped them round. But she never suggested gustaba was subjunctive.

You are right. Nor did I. However, the subject of the thread is about the subjunctive and nobody has pointed this fact out, not even Vikingo.

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by chileno

You are right. Nor did I. However, the subject of the thread is about the subjunctive and nobody has pointed this fact out, not even Vikingo.

I think this is taken as understood by everyone in the thread, that the only difference between the two sentences is gustaba versus gustara.

[chileno]

Originally Posted by Perikles

I think this is taken as understood by everyone in the thread, that the only difference between the two sentences is gustaba versus gustara.

It seems the OP thinks both phrases are in subjunctive and is trying to decide which of them is more better.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

@Hernán: Momento, que soy lento. No es necesario revolver nada.
I don't see anyone claiming both sentences are using a subjunctive.
Betsy just mentioned she's studying the use of subjunctive; then she wrote two sentences that express a similar idea and she wants to know which one is correct. The answers given point at the fact that both sentences are correct, depending on what she wants to say.
As for the order in which I posted them, I think my point of view is stated clearly enough and doesn't present "estaba" as an imperfect subjunctive.

[chileno]

Originally Posted by betsysimpkins

Ayudenme por favor!

We are testing on imperfect subjunctive and I'm trying to decide which of the following is MORE correct and...why?

Yo no sabia que a ella le gustaba bailar.

vs.

Yo no sabia que a ella le gustara bailar.

Originally Posted by AngelicaDeAlquezar

@Hernán: Momento, que soy lento. No es necesario revolver nada.
I don't see anyone claiming both sentences are using a subjunctive.
Betsy just mentioned she's studying the use of subjunctive; then she wrote two sentences that express a similar idea and she wants to know which one is correct. The answers given point at the fact that both sentences are correct, depending on what she wants to say.
As for the order in which I posted them, I think my point of view is stated clearly enough and doesn't present "estaba" as an imperfect subjunctive.

Are you sure?

I still think Betsy thinks both are in subjunctive... apparently I'm the only one who understands it this way, hence I must be wrong...

As to lento is concerned... is there anything you would like to tell us?

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

"Lenta" just doesn't rhyme.

[chileno]

Originally Posted by AngelicaDeAlquezar

"Lenta" just doesn't rhyme.

Or it was a lapsus "fingerous"