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La propuesta me pareció buena, porque así todas participamos más.

La propuesta me pareció buena, porque así todas participamos más.
The proposal seemed good to me, because that way we all participate more.
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Questions & Answers about La propuesta me pareció buena, porque así todas participamos más.

What does me pareció literally mean here, and how is parecer working in this sentence?

Parecer is often used like gustar when talking about opinions:

  • La propuesta me pareció buena
    = literally: The proposal seemed good to me.
    = more natural English: I thought the proposal was good / The proposal seemed good to me.

Structure:

  • La propuesta → subject (the thing being judged)
  • me → indirect object (the person having the opinion: to me)
  • pareció → 3rd person singular, preterite of parecer
  • buena → adjective describing la propuesta

So the pattern is:
[Something] + indirect object pronoun + parecer + adjective
Example: La película me pareció interesante. (I found the film interesting.)

Why do we say me pareció buena and not just fue buena?

Both are grammatically correct, but the nuance is different:

  • La propuesta fue buena
    → more objective: “The proposal was good” (as a fact or general judgment).

  • La propuesta me pareció buena
    → explicitly subjective: “The proposal seemed good to me / I thought it was good.”

Using me pareció emphasizes that this is your impression or opinion, not necessarily an absolute truth. Spanish often uses parecer (with an indirect object pronoun) to soften statements and make them sound more personal or less categorical.

Why is it buena and not bueno?

In Spanish, adjectives must agree in gender and number with the noun they describe.

  • la propuesta → feminine, singular
  • So the adjective must also be: feminine, singular → buena

If the noun were masculine, you’d say:

  • el plan me pareció bueno
  • el proyecto me pareció bueno

Plural examples:

  • Las propuestas me parecieron buenas. (feminine plural)
  • Los planes me parecieron buenos. (masculine plural)
Why do we need me in La propuesta me pareció buena? Could we just say La propuesta pareció buena?

You can say La propuesta pareció buena, but it changes the meaning slightly.

  • La propuesta pareció buena
    → “The proposal seemed good.” (to people in general / from what we could tell) → It doesn’t say to whom it seemed good.

  • La propuesta me pareció buena
    → “The proposal seemed good to me / I thought the proposal was good.” → The indirect object pronoun me specifies who has that opinion.

In everyday speech, when someone is giving their opinion, they almost always include the pronoun:
Me pareció buena, Nos pareció interesante, etc.

What is the grammatical subject of pareció? Is me the subject?

No, me is not the subject here.

  • La propuesta is the subject.
  • pareció is the verb (3rd person singular, matching la propuesta).
  • me is an indirect object pronoun (“to me”).

So the structure is:

  • La propuesta (subject)
  • me (indirect object: to me)
  • pareció (verb)
  • buena (subject complement/adjective)

This is the same pattern as:

  • La película me gustó mucho.
    (The film pleased me a lot → I liked the film a lot.)
What is the role of así in porque así todas participamos más? Why not just porque todas participamos más?

Así means “like that / in that way” and refers back to the situation created by the proposal.

  • porque todas participamos más
    → “because we all take part more” (without saying why that happens).

  • porque así todas participamos más
    → “because that way we all take part more”
    → “because in that way we all participate more.”

So así links the effect (more participation) directly to the method / conditions introduced by the proposal. It’s like saying:

  • “The proposal seemed good to me because, with it arranged like that, we all take part more.”
Is participamos here present tense or past tense? How can the same form mean both?

Participamos can be:

  • present: (nosotras/nosotros) participamos → “we participate”
  • preterite: (nosotras/nosotros) participamos → “we participated”

The form is identical; you tell which one it is from context, not from the spelling.

In your sentence:

  • La propuesta me pareció buena → clearly past (preterite: seemed).
  • porque así todas participamos más →
    Could be:
    • past: “because that way we all participated more (on that occasion),” or
    • present: “because that way we all (generally) participate more” (a current or general effect of the proposal).

Spanish sometimes mixes a past tense for the decision and a present tense for a lasting or general result. So both readings are possible:

  • Past–past: It seemed good because that way we all participated more (then).
  • Past–present: It seemed good (when we discussed it) because, even now, we all participate more that way.

Only the wider context would make it 100% clear.

Why do we say todas participamos and not todas nosotras participamos or participamos todas?

All three are grammatically possible; the differences are in emphasis and style.

  1. todas participamos

    • Neutral, natural word order.
    • Means “we all participate” (and the feminine todas shows you’re talking about a group of women).
    • Very common and simple.

  2. todas nosotras participamos

    • Adds nosotras for extra clarity or emphasis on “we (women)”:
      “all of us women participate.”
    • You might use this if you want to contrast with others (e.g. todas nosotras participamos, pero ellos no).

  3. participamos todas

    • Also correct, but sounds more marked/stylistic, often used to emphasize the word todas (“all of us, without exception”).
    • In casual speech, todas participamos is more typical.

So todas participamos is simply the most natural, everyday choice.

Why is it todas and not todos?

Todas is the feminine plural form of todo and is used because the group referred to is understood to be all female.

Rules:

  • todos → masculine plural (used for:
    • all-male groups, or
    • mixed-gender groups, or
    • when gender is not specified / generic).
  • todas → feminine plural (used only when the entire group is female).

So:

  • todas participamos más → all the participants are female.
  • If the group were mixed or male, you’d say: todos participamos más.
Could así go in another position, like porque todas participamos más así? Does that change the meaning?

You can move así, and the basic meaning stays the same, but the emphasis can shift slightly.

Possible versions:

  1. porque así todas participamos más

    • Very natural.
    • Focus: “Because that way, we all participate more.”

  2. porque todas participamos más así

    • Also correct.
    • Focus is slightly more on the result (“we participate more like that”).
    • Still quite natural in conversation.

  3. porque todas así participamos más

    • Possible, but sounds more marked and less neutral; the así in the middle draws attention.

The original porque así todas participamos más is the most straightforward and fluent-sounding order.

Can we change pareció to another tense, like parecía or ha parecido? Would that change the meaning?

Yes, changing the tense slightly changes the time reference and nuance.

  1. La propuesta me pareció buena (preterite)

    • A completed impression at a specific moment in the past.
    • “The proposal seemed good to me (when I heard it / at that time).”

  2. La propuesta me parecía buena (imperfect)

    • Ongoing or repeated impression in the past, or more background-y.
    • “The proposal seemed good to me” / “I used to think the proposal was good” / “I was finding it good.”

  3. La propuesta me ha parecido buena (pretérito perfecto compuesto, common in Spain)

    • A past impression connected to the present.
    • “The proposal has seemed good to me” → more like “I’ve found the proposal good (and I still think so).”

All are possible, but the original me pareció states a clear, completed reaction at some point in the past, which fits well with the simple cause given after porque.