Number of verbs in one sentence
I am confused about the number of conjugated verbs you can have in a sentence. I thought it was one but i say this sentence and i am worried that i am wrong.
Si pudiese, viviría en Guadalajara. If I could, I would live in Guadalajara.
can anyone help me understand the rule. Thanks
5 Answers
That question is impossible to answer. You can have as many verbs as Clauses you have.
Actually, in your example, If I could, I would live in Guadalaja, there's ONE main verb (or verb phrase), which is live (with the auxiliary verb would). "If I could" is a conditional clause, so the verb "could" is inside the sentence but in a subordinative place. You can have more than one main verb in a sentence: "I sing and dance on the rain". Then you have the to+infinitive clauses, with can be anywhere too: "He booked early to secure a seat" There you have the main verb "booked" on the past simple form, and "to secure a seat" which is a full infinitival phrase.
What you are asking is really hard to explain if you haven't studied syntax. I think I'm going too deep and confusing you more...
As far as I can see you can just keep going on and on, as long as it is correct and makes sense, the sky is the limit.
quiero vivir : conjugated verb + infinitive
creo que eres feliz : conjugated verb + conjugated verb
Depends on the context. Verbs that are adjacent tend to conjugate only the first verb, as in the first example.
Errm ok, i know that you can have two verbs in a sentence. However what i was asking is, How many verbs can you have in one sentence that are using their conjugations?
You need as many verbs as you need. How would you say it without the two verbs? You have two verbs in the English sentence so...............
