Lesson 3.11 sentence I cannot understand.

Question

Why is the sentence: Esperaba que se casarais and not Esperaba que les casarais or Esperaba que os casarais'

Answer 1

Congrats QFreed, that was a really good answer to the question. It gives a good example by what is meant by "main clause" etc.

Thanks again,

Answer 2

Why is the sentence: Esperaba que se casarais and not Esperaba que les casarais or Esperaba que os casarais?

Esperaba que se casarais=is incorrect. Here you are using the 2nd person plural, informal preterite subjunctive, but using a formal (3rd person) reflexive pronoun to express reciprocity. (reciprocal, pronominal)

Esperaba que os casarais= (both verb and pronoun familiar) is correct.

Awkwardly translated: I hoped that you married one another.

if you use [del]les [/del](los)
I hoped that you married them (direct object). (see previous post for possible context)

For those that haven't taken the lesson the object of the sentence was to show that you use the preterite (past) subjunctive in the subordinate clause when the verb in the main clause is in the past tense. (...in sentences where we are using verbs of emotion (WEIRDO) in the main clause, and there is a subject change).

From lesson 4.6 it may also be written:

Esperaba que os hubierais casado with a slight temporal shift.
I hoped that you had married each other.

I suppose that we should give the formal option also:
Esperaba que **se **casaran.
(hint: if these look like verbs in the future tense to you, then take note of how important tildes are in Spanish).

Answer 3

Hey scott how are you ?
I wonder if you are trying to say this : " ¿ Esperaba que os casariais ? " or maybe
" Esperaba que se casarían "
or maybe you are refering to them saying : " Esperaba que os casarais "

so for me this two sentences have the same meaning :

' Eperaba que se casarais " = " Esperaba que os casarais " wich means I was hoping for you ( two people ) to marry.In this one you are talking to the people that is gonna marry each other.

and ' Esperaba que les casariais has a tottally diferent context it means : I was hoping you will marry them like refering to someone ( a priest maybe ) to be the person that is gonna marry two people.

Hope you get it for me is more simple to explain like this because im not very good at grammar ..: )