when we have two verbs...

Question

If we have two verbs in a sentence, in which tenses do we change the second verb? Because i know that for present we change only the first one /No puedo porqué jugar voleybol/..but i saw this /I know that it's imperfect/ --> Cuando era niño, leía mucho .. So when to change the verb after the first one in a sentence and when not to ?

Answer 1

In most, if not all, cases, if two verbs go side-by-side in a single, independent clause (Quiero jugar - I want to play), the second verb is never conjugated (and also, jugar belongs/refers to the same subject (yo), so it doesn't conjugate).

However, in your example, Cuando era niño, leía mucho, the first conjugated verb "era" belongs to a dependent clause "Cuando era niño" - When I was a boy. Because that is a dependent clause, and therefore cannot stand by itself, it is followed by an independent clause which must have a conjugated verb: leía mucho - I read/used to read a lot. So when you put the two together, the dependent and independent clause, you get Cuando era niño, leía mucho - When I was a boy, I read/used to read a lot.

** Forgot to add that your example could also mean "When he was a boy, he read/used to read a lot."

Gracias, es muy útil para mí también. - dmbaker63, Sep 13, 2012

Perfecto Aza - ian-hill, Sep 13, 2012