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".
Hi
9 Vosotros ________ solteros desde siempre. You guys have been single since always. The answer was estáis which would translate to You guys are single since always. I was looking for han estado for the answer. Have I missed something?
Julie
Hola Inma,
"se originó en la región de Río de la Plata"
My answer was:
fue originado en la región de Río de la Plata.
No entiendo la diferencia. ¿Me podrías explicar?
Saludos
Ελισάβετ
‘The local police has captured the murderer.’
I’d say this should be ‘have captured’ in English, ‘has’ sounds unnatural to me
Hola
Why is the imperfect subjunctive used, as it is not a repeated or continued action?
Many thanks
Hola Inma,
Why do you use the infinitive endurecer insted of the sunjuctive? I thought both se empezara a and endurecer are attached to the Sería bueno que.
Muchas gracias!
Ελισάβετ
If I understand this correctly,(always a big "if") I think you should make reference to any irregularities in the ending. E.g., first person singular ends in "e" and third person has no accent. Maybe there are others.
¿Qué diferencia entre arreglar y reparar?
Muchas gracias
why is No todavía hemos cenado. marked wrong
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".
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