Meanings of "Que" in different contexts

Question

How many meanings does "que" have in Spanish ? I tried translating "i remember thinking, "is this a dream ?"" using google translate. It translates to this : "Recuerdo que pensé: "¿es esto un sueño?" "

What is the meaning of "que" in this sentence ?

Answer 1

That.

Recuerdo que pensé

I remember that I thought. (The use of pensé rather than pensaba emphasizes that I no longer am thinking that, at least so I think- thought vs. was thinking)

You could say

Recuerdo haber pensado

I remember having thought

Typing at the same time. - gringojrf, Aug 19, 2014

Answer 2

I think it can have tons of meanings, and in this context, it just means 'that'. Lets you go from present tense to past tense.

Recuerdo que pensé -> I remember that I thought

Even though maybe this makes more sense from the 'use the right past tense!" POV: Recuerdo que pensaba « ¿es esto un sueño? »

Although I would phrase it as: Recuerdo haberme preguntado « ¿es esto un sueño? » It isn't the same sentence as before as it seems to go "I remember having wondered", but it has a nice ring to it. Maybe you should wait till someone more experienced answers, though.

Wow, ninja'd by 14 minutes. I am getting slow. - Helado_eclectico, Aug 19, 2014

Answer 3

I'm not a native speaker.

I remember thinking = I remember (that I was) thinking

If you look at it this way the "que" makes sense. It allows the transition from one tense to the other.

Well, I know I always feel confident when I get more than one answer saying essentially the same thing. - bosquederoble, Aug 19, 2014