Tell Me, Who Was Likely To Eat There?

Introduction

This post is about verb conjugation and in particular the imperfect tense, subjunctive mood of regular verbs ending in -er.

SCENARIO

Imagine you are talking to a relative, a friend or a colleague about an eating place/ restaurant. It appears likely that someone you know ate in that place. You are speculating who that person was and the other person says: "tell me, who was likely to eat there?".

In Spanish, the other person could choose to be less formal and say:

Dime, ¿quién era probable que comiese allí?

On the other hand, he/ she could choose to be more formal and say:

Dígame, ¿quién era probable que comiese allí?

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OUR TIP

Consider using a subjunctive mood if you want to indicate that your answer is speculative/ not fact. Make sure that you conjugate your verbs correctly. Remember that in some cases you will have to choose between a more formal or a less formal option -see examples below.

Typical answers could be:

• Era probable que yo comiese* allí (it was likely that I ate there);
• Era probable que tú comieses* allí, ¿no? (it was likely that you -familiar ate there, wasn't it?);
• Era probable que usted comiese* allí, ¿no? (it was likely that you -formal ate there, wasn't it?);
• Era probable que Pedro comiese* allí, ¿no? (it was likely that Pedro ate there, wasn't it?);
• Era probable que Maria comiese* allí, ¿no? (it was likely that María ate there, wasn't it?);
• Era probable que nosotros comiésemos* allí, ¿no? (it was likely that we ate there, wasn't it?);
• Era probable que vosotros comieseis* allí, ¿no? (it was likely that you -familiar/ plural ate there, wasn't it?);
• Era probable que ustedes comiesen allí, ¿no? (it was likely that you -formal/ plural ate there, wasn't it?);
• Era probable que Pedro y María comiesen* allí, ¿no? (it was likely that Pedro and Maria ate there, wasn't it?);

Now you should practise replying to someone who says to you:

Dime, ¿quién era probable que comiese allí?

**Please see grammar topic below, Verbs

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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.

Verb Conjugation

Please see notes on conjugation* at the end of this post.

Subjunctive Mood-Imperfect Tense

1. Regular Verbs Ending in -ar

Subject		TRABAJAR (TO WORK)
I	Yo	TRABAJARA o TRABAJASE
You	Tú	TRABAJARAS o TRABAJASES
You	Usted*	TRABAJARA o TRABAJASE
He	Él
She	Ella
We	Nosotros	TRABAJÁRAMOS o TRABAJÁSEMOS
You	Vosotros**	TRABAJARAIS o TRABAJASEIS
You	Ustedes***	TRABAJARAN o TRABAJASEN
They	Ellos
They	Ellas

*NB More courteous/ polite form of 'you'

**NB 'You' plural

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

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2. Regular Verbs Ending in -er

Subject		COMER (TO EAT)
I	Yo	COMIERA o COMIESE
You	Tú	COMIERAS o COMIESES
You	Usted*	COMIERA o COMIESE
He	Él
She	Ella
We	Nosotros	COMIÉRAMOS o COMIÉSEMOS
You	Vosotros**	COMIERAIS o COMIESEIS
You	Ustedes***	COMIERAN o COMIESEN
They	Ellos
They	Ellas

*NB More courteous/ polite form of 'you'

**NB 'You' plural

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

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3. Regular Verbs Ending in -ir

Subject		VIVIR (TO LIVE)
I	Yo	VIVIERA o VIVIESE
You	Tú	VIVIERAS o VIVIESES
You	Usted*	VIVIERA o VIVIESE
He	Él
She	Ella
We	Nosotros	VIVIÉRAMOS o VIVIÉSEMOS
You	Vosotros**	VIVIERAIS o VIVIESEIS
You	Ustedes***	VIVIERAN o VIVIESEN
They	Ellos
They	Ellas

*NB More courteous/ polite form of 'you'

**NB 'You' plural

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

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* 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 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-subjunctive mood of regular verbs with some examples of your own.

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