Aunque + subjunctive in the sense "Even though ..."
As Inma says, sometimes it is quite difficult to draw a 'sharp line' between occasions when we should, and when we should not use the subjunctive.
My grammar book [by Butt & Benjamin] offers a simple and interesting guideline to help decide which would be best in the context of "aunque, referring to present [and also past] events". As is to be expected, expressing something in the subjunctive "strengthens the concession". Thus, they suggest that if you can translate it as "even though ...", then the subjunctive will be more appropriate:
"Even though you don't like films, you will like this one" >
"Aunque no te gusten las películas, ésta te va a gustar".
The Butt & Benjamin "rule" is of course quite consistent here with the concept of "shared information which is known both by the speaker and by the listener".
Butt & Benjamin cite another example [quoting a Peruvian Scholar]:
"I'll never blame Octavia, even though I may have tried to sometimes" >
"Jamás culparé a Octavia, aunque lo haya intentado alguna vez".
I keep tripping up on this! Asked to choose correct answers in a multiple choice, I chose as follows:
It takes 10 minutes to paint it = Se tarda..., Se tardaron... and Tarda...
Tarda was marked as incorrect. However, it seems to me that it has some legitimacy. Thing is, there's no indication what 'it' actually is, so it could in fact be the subject of the sentence! That might seem odd, but perhaps if you were to think of 'it' being a train in the sentence '(el tren) Tarda dos horas en llegar a Madrid' it might make a bit more sense - especially if this was said as a reply and the subject was already established.
If the question gave a hint like 'form a passive' or 'we don't know who or what the subject is', that would leave little doubt. But as is, it not entirely clear.
As Inma says, sometimes it is quite difficult to draw a 'sharp line' between occasions when we should, and when we should not use the subjunctive.
My grammar book [by Butt & Benjamin] offers a simple and interesting guideline to help decide which would be best in the context of "aunque, referring to present [and also past] events". As is to be expected, expressing something in the subjunctive "strengthens the concession". Thus, they suggest that if you can translate it as "even though ...", then the subjunctive will be more appropriate:
"Even though you don't like films, you will like this one" >
"Aunque no te gusten las películas, ésta te va a gustar".
The Butt & Benjamin "rule" is of course quite consistent here with the concept of "shared information which is known both by the speaker and by the listener".
Butt & Benjamin cite another example [quoting a Peruvian Scholar]:
"I'll never blame Octavia, even though I may have tried to sometimes" >
"Jamás culparé a Octavia, aunque lo haya intentado alguna vez".
Is there a rule for using the definite article in Spanish? It often trips me up. It doesn’t always follow the same pattern as English, eg in Castles text: …visitar castillos (no ‘los’, where in English there would be no ‘the’), but then:… la historia de los castillos medievales (in the English version there is no ‘the’, the history of medieval castles; the history of the medieval castles is not incorrect it just has a different meaning). Maybe, as in English, it’s very much about common usage and there’s no absolute rule.?
________ del colegio tendrás que hacer tus deberes.
When you get back from school you will have to do your homework.
Cuando volverás
Cuando hayas vuelto
Cuando volverías
Cuando volviste
The right answer is "hayas vuelto" , but I don't understand why "volverás" is wrong.
I answered "alguno," but apparently the answer is "algunos." I don't understand why based on this quote from the lesson. Thanks!
"Sometimes, when alguno and alguna are used in affirmative sentences, it has the nuance of "some random something/someone", "one or two" or "the odd one". The idea is non-specific in number and can refer to one or more items. It does agree in gender but not in number: even if it refers to a plural noun, the pronoun is in the singular form, not the plural form."
as he gets older, he gets more attractive
Why does árábe have two accents the first time and only one, el árabe, the second time?
Me alegra que ellos sean los primeros.
Why is this subjunctive? Is it because it comes after "que"? This sentence doesn't seem to express any doubt about their being the first.
Could I say "me alegra que ser el primero?" if I were talking about myself or would I have to write "me alegra que yo sea el primero"?
Hi, “on the big bedroom” doesn’t make sense in English. “In the big bedroom” makes sense and/or “on the wall in the big bedroom”. Shirley.
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