Saturday 30 July 2011

I Don't Mind If It Rains, What About You?


SCENARIO
Imagine you are talking about the weather with a relative, a friend or a colleague.  Perhaps it is raining. The other person wants to say that he/ she does not mind when it rains and ask you if you don't mind the rain either. He/ she could choose to be a little bit formal and ask you:
A mi no me importa que llueva ¿y a ti?

Alternatively, he/ she could choose to be a little bit less formal and say:
A mi no me importa que llueva ¿y a usted?

 


OUR TIP
You DO NOT need be concerned about the degree of formality in the question you are asked. Whether the other person uses the more/ less formal question is irrelevant to your choice of answer. Your answer depends only on whether you want to say that you:
  • Don't mind if it rains (you agree with him/ her)
  • Do mind if it rains (you disagree with him/ her)

Here are a couple of examples which deal with those two basic possibilities:
  • A mi tampoco me importa que llueva (don't mind either)
  • A mi sí que me importa que llueva (do mind)

Now you should practice answering the question:
A mi no me importa que llueva ¿y a ti?



Grammar-Subjunctive

 Please note that expressions such as: "I don't mind if...", when translated as "A mi no me importa que..." are a classic example of subjunctive. Some examples of this generic type of expression are:
  • A mi no me importa que <subjuntive>...
  • A ti no te importa que <subjuntive>...
  • A él no le importa que <subjuntive>...
  • A ella no le importa que <subjunctive>
  • A nosotros no nos importa que <subjuntive>...
  • A vosotros no os importa que <subjuntive>...
  • A ellos no les importa que <subjuntive>...
  • A ellas no les importa que <sujunctive>...
You should practise using this form of the subjunctive, by completing sentences such as:
  • "A mi no me importa que..."
  •  "A ti no te importa que..."
  • Etc.


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