Order of words in the sentence

Question

Hi guys,

I've been wondering if there is any difference between following two sentences and what sentence would sound better

> Los obreros no recibían un sueldo decente desde hacía cinco décadas > hasta que los sindicados se formaron

And:

> Los obreros no recibían un sueldo decente desde hacía cinco décadas > hasta que se formaron los sindicados

Ievgen.

I could give my opinions, but I am not a native speaker, and will wait and see if one answers first. :) - bosquederoble, Apr 30, 2016

Welcome to SpanishDict. Which one do you think is correct and why.. - rac1, Apr 30, 2016

Welcome to the forum , we want to help you so fill out your profile If you have a problem PM a mod Bienvenido al foro. Queremos ayudarle, entonces hay que llenar su perfil. Si hay un problema, envíe un mensaje personal (PM) - ray76, Apr 30, 2016

We do not do your homework for you make an attempt yourself and we may correct it for you . - ray76, Apr 30, 2016

We have rules and guidelines that need to be observed young lady. - ray76, Apr 30, 2016

@rac1 - I don't know any rule that would force it to be in a particular order. To me both ways are correct - igomolskyi, Apr 30, 2016

@ray76 - I study Spanish on my own and use grammar book. I saw a sentence which I don't understand why it was formed that way. Why this is wrong place to ask this question? I can ask on the other forum? Can you suggest one? - igomolskyi, Apr 30, 2016

See my opinion below, as promised above. :) - bosquederoble, Apr 30, 2016

Hi,you misunderstood me mate,thank you for filling out your profile,worth a vote from me. - ray76, May 1, 2016

Answer 1

My opinion (as promised last night):

I will state that I agree with Jubilado in that both are acceptable.

I think it is a matter of emphasis. I am not good enough to say what the change implies though.

In that construction I tend to find the subject/pronominal object following the verb more often, so it sounds more natural to me that way. It probably emphasizes the action over the subject more, which is usually more what is called for.

I think desde hacía tiempo is acceptable.

Here is our lesson:

http://www.spanishdict.com/topics/show/96

Past actions interrupted by another past action (had been verb for time when preterite verb)

To express how long you had been doing something when something else happened, you have three options for forming your statements.

hacía + time + que + imperfect

OR

imperfect + hacía + time

OR

imperfect + desde hacía + time

• Hacía una semana que leía el libro cuando lo perdí. (I had been reading the book for a week when I lost it.)

• Dormía hacía siete horas cuando sonó el reloj. (I had been sleeping for seven hours when the alarm went off.)

• Jugábamos con el perro desde hacía 30 minutos cuando empezó a llover. (We had been playing with the dog for 30 minutes when it began to rain.)

Por is probably acceptable as well- I tend to find many from Spain do not like por for durations of time in certain situations and prefer either durante, or no preposition- however Latin Americans tend to accept it more readily. I tend to avoid por in such situations when writing for Spaniards, as I don't quite know how to distinguish where they accept it and not.

Answer 2

Remember that in Spanish we use a lot of double negatives, so I would say: Durante cinco décadas los obreros no recibían un sueldo decente hasta que no se formaran los sindicatos.

Answer 3

Both are te same. It's only a emphasizes question.

I Wouldn't use había, because in this sentence "haber" works as a time complement of other verb (recibir)

For this sentence I Would use hace.

Los obreros no recibían un sueldo decente desde hace cinco décadas ,hasta que  los sindicados se formaron.

Los obreros no recibían un sueldo decente desde hace cinco décadas ,hasta que se formaron los sindicados

Answer 4

You've asked your question and you've filled out your profile. I think you deserve a proper answer.

First of all if you could go to edit to correct "sentense" to sentence, that would be good!

Second, I think you are saying (English translation): The workers were not receiving a decent wage for five decades > until unions were formed.

I would use por in the first part instead of desde hacía before cinco décadas.

I think the second part is correct either way.

But I am not a native speaker!

And I sincerely hope one will come along to answer this. You have certainly waited long enough!

And welcome to the forum. There are many people here who will help you as you study Spanish!

:) - ian-hill, Apr 30, 2016