Listo cuando quiera

Question

I'm ready when you are. This confirms my hypothesis that the double clause is not necessary for suibjuntive to trigger and cuando is all it takes. I am ready when you are. What do you think Calvo?

Answer 1

I imagine this sentence is shorthand for (Estoy/Está) listo cuando quiera. So, even though the main clause was not fully stated, the grammar of the dependent clause was affected just as much as though it had been.

We do this in English all the time:

• Person 1: When can I pick up the car?
• Person 2: (You can pick it up) Whenever you want.

Answer 2

It's from Star Trek. Listo cuando quiera.

Did you see this or hear it?

Could it have been "Listo cuandoquiera"?

cuandoquiera=whenever

He could be saying "[Estoy] listo cuandoquiera... Ready whenenver. The problem with discussing grammar from movies is that speech is seldom correct grammar.

I assume that you are hearing it as ..."Listo cuando quiera" meaning "[Estoy] listo cuando usted quiera. (hence the discussion about the subjunctive without a dependent clause. The dependent clause does not have to begin with "que".

Even if the word was cuandoquiera, however, the actual sentence is an abbreviated form of [Estoy] listo cuandoquiera que ..... In speech, we just don't mention the compliment and that's understood, but it is a sentence fragment, not a sentence.

If you can learn grammar from everyday speech, then you are a much better man than me.

Answer 3

"Que" is definitely the heavy hitter in triggering the subjunctive, but there are other triggers. You still need two clauses (to be grammatically correct), with the independent clause being indicative (or conditional). Often in conversation we shorten some of our sentences and seriously violate grammar rules.

This phrase you give here is not grammatically correct as it is. You need a verb for the first part (the independent clause): "Estoy listo cuando quiera."

We often use expressions like "que yo sepa" (as far as I know) without a complete sentence. I guess we need to learn the grammar rules, but also understand that at times, especially in oral language, those rules are ignored.

In my experience they are very often ignored and so I often grapple with Qfreed in what is right and what is wrong, he is very by the book and am opposite of the book you know. And I think you are in the middle. It's from Star Trek. Listo cuando quiera. - jeezzle, May 31, 2010