Breakdown of A princesa queria que o monstro fosse simpático.
ser
to be
simpático
nice
querer
to want
que
that (conjunction)
a princesa
the princess
o monstro
the monster
Questions & Answers about A princesa queria que o monstro fosse simpático.
Why do we use the subjunctive form fosse here instead of a normal past tense?
The verb queria (wanted) expresses a desire, which triggers the subjunctive mood for the second verb. Because the desire happened in the past (queria is the imperfect past tense), the following verb must be in the past subjunctive, known as the Pretérito Imperfeito do Conjuntivo. Therefore, we use fosse.
Is fosse the imperfect subjunctive of ser (to be) or ir (to go)?
It is from ser (to be). The highly irregular verbs ser and ir share the exact same forms in the imperfect subjunctive, just as they do in the simple past tense (Pretérito Perfeito). You have to rely on context to tell them apart. Here, "wanted the monster to go friendly" makes no sense, so it must be ser.
English uses the infinitive here ("wanted the monster TO BE"). Why does Portuguese use "que" + a conjugated verb?
In Portuguese, when you use a verb of desire or emotion and the subject changes (the princess wants it, but the monster does the being), you generally cannot use the infinitive. You must bridge the two clauses with que (that) and conjugate the second verb in the subjunctive. Literally, it translates to "The princess wanted that the monster were friendly."
Simpático looks a lot like "sympathetic". Is that what it means here?
No, simpático is a classic "false friend" for English speakers. It actually means "friendly", "nice", or "pleasant". If you want to say someone is sympathetic (understanding of someone's feelings), you would use a word like compreensivo or solidário.
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