Does putting 'te' in front of 'esperabas' change its meaning?

Question

This sentence confuses me. Why is there a 'te' in front of 'esperabas'. ? (It's from a lesson book).

"No vendrías si supieras lo que te esperabas."

You wouldn't come if you knew what..... ( ? )

Answer 1

Technically it translates as "you wouldnt come if you knew what you were waiting for", but thats kind of wierd thing to say, maybe its trying to say "you wouldnt come if you know what was waiting for you"??

Well, that's what my English mind wants to read but I don't know why esperar would be conjugated as esperabas and not esperaba. Anyway, I'm trying not to guess. - Erin, Jul 26, 2011

technically the te makes it you waiting for yourself. But that doesnt make sence, so its either a typo or trying to add suspense (clarify who is waiting) - toothpastechica, Jul 26, 2011

Answer 2

Esperarse can be used as a pronomial verb. Following is the definition.

esperarse pronomial verb 1. to expect (imaginarse, figurarse) •se esperaban lo peor -> they expected o feared the worst 2. to wait (aguardar) •esperarse a que alguien haga algo -> to wait for somebody to do something

However, this does not precisely explain your usage. I am thinking it translates as " You wouldn't come if you knew what was expected of you."

I am in agreement with you on this one. - Daniel, Jul 26, 2011

Answer 3

I think that the experabas is a typo.

You would not come if you knew what was expected of you.

You would not come if you knew what awaited you.

We, if we aren't guessing, ....

Answer 4

When your saying "Yo como" or "I eat" you could just drop the "yo" and say como because you know that como means "I eat" without the "yo". I don't know if that works with that though......