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Questions answered by our learning community with help from expert Spanish teachers
6,013 questions • 9,828 answers • 1,013,326 learners
For this question: Es improbable que los niños ________ la puerta. These options show as correct: hayan roto / rompieran. I understand hayan roto, as the impersonal beginning signifies "subjunctive", and the event is in the past. However, I learned at a language school in Cuernavaca that present tense statements (es improbable) could only match with haber + participle, and that only past events (eg "era improbable" could match with imperfect subjunctive (rompieran). The teachers made a big deal out of that. However here it shows up as a legitimate option. Can you explain? Thank you.
Thank you Inma,
So does that mean that even if "siglo" is singular, you can also use the plural? i.e. "a comienzos de..."
does that mean then that you can use the singular "al comienzo de.." if "siglos" was plural?
Do you have any example sentences for these 2 uses?
Do you have any more info on this use? also is this a Peninsular Spain usage? or universally used?
Thank you. Your replies a very appreciated! Nicole
By process of elimination, I selected estuvieron as being the correct answer; however, my preference would have been estaban.
See the example given below:
Mario estaba de camarero en un restaurante.
Mario was working as a waiter in a restaurant.
Here is the question with the answer:
Mis hijos _estuvieron_ de vendedores en una tienda.
My children were working as shop assistants in a store.
My choice:
Mis hijos _estaban_ de vendedores en una tienda.
Would you explain the reason for the answer being the preterite and not the imperfect, please.
Qué semana te vas de vacaciones?
What week are you going on vacation?
There are 52 weeks in a year.
Apparently, 52 is a large enough universe to use Qué and not Cuál.
If you wanted to say: What day of the week is today?....
would you say Qué dia de semana es hoy? or Cuál dia de semana es hoy?
There are 7 days in a week.
Is 7 a small enough number to use Cuál? or....
Are you asking for a definition of the day and therefore Qué?
It would be great to have the english version as well so it is easier to understand unfamiliar words.
Hi, Shui, is there a difference between “este está compuesto por” and “este es compuesto por”? I would have expected the ser form in this context. From reverso.com I see both forms are quite common. Why would you choose the estar form in this case, and would the ser form be wrong? Thanks!
Hi,
I thought I had answered this correctly by choosing the subjunctive of terminar: termine. But it was marked wrong with what I think is just another variation on subjunctive for terminar: terminase. (See below.)
Am I wrong? What am I missing here?
Thanks!
Dijeron que nos pagarían las horas extra trabajadas cuando ________ el mes.
They said they'd pay our overtime when it was the end of the month.
terminase
terminaba
terminó
termine
I have seen “sometimes” translated as a veces. Is that wrong? Should it always be algunas veces?
Hola Inma,
¿Espero que estés bien?
¡He disfrutado mucho este ejercicio con todas las expresiones idiomáticas! :)
Please could you let me know if I've understood these correctly in the context of the exercise:
-higos a brevas= once in a blue moon.
-a tope= fully, to the fullest.
-de punta en blanco= dressed up to the nines, dressed to kill.
-se mantiene en sus trece= digging his heels in, sticking to his guns (refusing to go).
Also, I'm unsure about the sentence which includes "ya he liado a mis amigos..." Does liar here mean 'to manage to' or 'to trick'?
Gracias
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