sunbjuntive example
1
vote
Ojalá que nos hubiéramos conocido antes.
When I read this I see "Hopefully we know eachother before." I feel like it's talking about the future like "hopefully, when it happens, we will know eachother beforehand." But it's a past subjunctive conjugation so I'm having a hard time understanding it's meaning.
883 views
updated Jan 20, 2013
posted by kyle_hurley
2 Answers
2
votes
If only we had met earlier ( Oh, if only we had got to know each other earlier). It's something that never happened, hence past subjunctive.
updated Jan 20, 2013
posted by annierats
sounds just right. - rogspax, Jan 19, 2013
Thanks. I get delighted when I actually know why, it has taken me a little while, you might say. - annierats, Jan 19, 2013
Welcome. I hope to follow in your footsteps one day. - rogspax, Jan 19, 2013
Muchas gracias. - annierats, Jan 20, 2013
1
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Annie's right, and it works quite logically just like the English equivalent, using the past tense to regret something that didn't happen 'in the past' - if only we 'had' met before.
updated Jan 19, 2013
edited by Kiwi-Girl
posted by Kiwi-Girl
