Monday 2 February 2015

Tell Me, Who Would Be Better Being In London?

Introduction


This post is about verb conjugation -the imperfect tense, subjunctive mood of irregular verb estar.





SCENARIO


Imagine you are talking to a relative, a friend or a colleague about your travels. There is an ongoing event in London and you are discussing the pros and cons of certain people being there. At some point, the other person says: "tell me, who would be better being in London?".

In Spanish, the other person could choose to be less formal and say:
Dime, ¿quién era mejor que estuviera en Londres?

On the other hand, he/ she could choose to be more formal and say:
Dígame, ¿quién era mejor que estuviera en Londres?


OUR TIP

Answering should be straightforward, but remember:



  • Use estar (not ser) in your answer
  • Make sure that you conjugate your verb correctly
  • Choose between formal or familiar options to suit the occasion -see examples below.

Typical answers could be:
  • Era mejor que yo estuviera* en Londres (I would be better being in London);
  • Era mejor que tú estuvieras* en Londres, ¿no? (you -familiar would be better being in London, wouldn't you?);
  • Era mejor que usted estuviera* en Londres, ¿no? (you -formal would be better being in London, wouldn't you?);
  • Era mejor que Pedro estuviera* en Londres (Pedro would be better being in London);
  • Era mejor que María estuviera* en Londres (Maria would be better being in London);
  • Era mejor que mis padres y yo estuviéramos* en Londres (my parents and I would be better being in London);
  • Era mejor que tú y tus padres estuvierais* en Londres, ¿no? (you -familiar/ plural and your parents would be better being in London, wouldn't you?);
  • Era mejor que usted y sus padres estuvieran* en Londres, ¿no? (you -formal/ plural and your parents would be better being in London, wouldn't you?);
  • Era mejor que Pedro y María estuvieran* en Londres (Pedro and María would be better being in London);

Now you should practise replying to someone who says to you:
Dime, ¿quién era mejor que estuviera en Londres?

*Please see grammar topic below, Verbs

Verbs
A verb is a 'doing' word which conveys:
  • What action takes place in a sentence
  • Who does that action
  • When that action occurs.
In addition, the verb may also convey the mood or feelings of the speaker toward the action which takes place. The verb may, for example, indicate whether the speaker is stating a fact, expressing a wish or indeed giving an order.

Irregular Verbs
Verb: estar
The Spanish verb estar is irregular* in some tenses, as shown in the table below:

Tense
Mood
Regular
Irregular
Present
Indicative

Imperfect
Indicative

Preterite
Indicative

Future
Indicative

Conditional
Indicative

Perfect
Indicative

Pluperfect
Indicative

Future Perfect
Indicative

Conditional Perfect
Indicative

Present
Subjunctive

Imperfect
Subjunctive

Perfect
Subjunctive

Pluperfect
Subjunctive


* NB:
  • Conjugate tenses in the regular column the same as other regular verbs ending in -ar
  • The imperfect tense conjugation/ subjunctive mood is shown below

Subjunctive Mood/ Imperfect Tense - Conjugation
    Verb: estar
Subject
ESTAR
(TO BE)
I
Yo
ESTUVIERA/
ESTUVIESE
You
ESTUVIERAS/
ESTUVIESES
You Usted*

ESTUVIERA/
ESTUVIESE
He Él
She
Ella
We
Nosotros
ESTUVIÉRAMOS/
ESTUVIÉSEMOS
You
Vosotros**
ESTUVIERAIS
ESTUVIESEIS
You
Ustedes***
ESTUVIERAN/
ESTUVIESEN
They
Ellos
They
Ellas

*NB More courteous/ polite form of 'you'
**NB 'You' plural
*** NB More courteous/ polite form of 'you' plural


Verb Conjugation Notes
It is worth remembering once more that in its basic form (infinitive), a Spanish verb is just a general 'doing' word. In that form, a verb simply indicates an action and nothing else. If we want a verb to be more specific about the action in a sentence, we need to conjugate it. It is only when conjugated that the verb indicates:
  • Who does the action
  • When the action takes place
  • The mood/ attitude of the speaker towards the action

The conjugation tables above refer to using conjugation to establish who does the action. What follows below are some notes on establishing when the action takes place and the mood/ attitude of the speaker towards the action.

Subjunctive Mood
The use of subjunctive mood is disappearing English. Nowadays is often viewed as an old and unfashionable form of the language.

In contrast, the use of subjunctive mood is very much alive and in everyday use in Spanish. This widespread use of subjunctive mood tends to be the bane of many a learner of Spanish from the English speaking world.

The concept of subjunctive mood is perhaps best illustrated by contrasting its use against the use of indicative mood with examples in English. The following are a couple of examples which should serve that purpose:
  • Indicative mood (“Peter eats an apple”).- Indicative mood is commonly used to make statements of facts or positive beliefs such as this one. As can be seen in the sample sentence (in quotes above), the speaker makes a clear and unambiguous statement of a fact (Peter eats an apple).
  • Subjunctive mood (“Peter would eat an apple if he were hungry”).- In contrast with indicative mood, subjunctive mood is commonly used to make statements indicating hypothetical or non-fact actions. As can be seen in the sample sentence (in quotes), in this case the speaker sees the action of eating an apple as something hypothetical, something which may or may not happen (Peter would eat an apple... if he were hungry).
Verb Tenses
Verb tenses relate to setting the time period (when) during which the action of the verb takes place. Basic times (periods) for Spanish verb actions are:
  • The past (before now)
  • The present (now)
  • The future (after now)
Each Spanish verb tense corresponds to one of those basic time periods. In other words choosing a verb tense places the action of the verb in one of those basic periods and determines when the action takes place.


Now you should practise the use of the imperfect tense of the irregular verb estar with some examples of your own.

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