Breakdown of Era impossível que a queda do império tivesse acontecido tão depressa.
ser
to be
de
of / from / by (means of transport) / wearing (attire)
ter
to have
tão
as / so
que
that (conjunction)
acontecer
to happen
depressa
quickly, fast
o império
the empire
impossível
impossible
a queda
the fall
Questions & Answers about Era impossível que a queda do império tivesse acontecido tão depressa.
How is the Pluperfect Subjunctive tivesse acontecido formed in this sentence?
It is formed by combining the auxiliary verb ter in the Imperfect Subjunctive (tivesse, matching the third-person singular for a queda) with the past participle of the main verb (acontecido).
Why do we need the subjunctive mood here instead of saying tinha acontecido?
The phrase Era impossível que acts as an impersonal expression of doubt or subjectivity. Just like in the present tense, where É impossível que triggers the Present Subjunctive, setting this trigger in the past requires a past subjunctive form in the dependent clause.
Why use the Pluperfect Subjunctive (tivesse acontecido) instead of just the Imperfect Subjunctive (acontecesse)?
We use the Pluperfect Subjunctive because the action of the empire falling happened before the past moment when it was considered impossible. If you used acontecesse, it would mean it was impossible for the fall to happen at that same time, whereas tivesse acontecido correctly translates to 'had happened', showing that the event was already complete.
Could I use the auxiliary verb haver instead of ter and say houvesse acontecido?
Grammatically, yes. The verb haver can be used as the auxiliary verb in compound tenses, so houvesse acontecido is correct. However, in modern European Portuguese, ter is vastly more common in everyday speech and writing, while haver in this context sounds quite literary or formal.
Is there a difference between saying tão depressa and tão rápido here?
In everyday Portuguese, they are often used interchangeably to mean 'so fast'. Strictly speaking, depressa is an adverb describing how the action happened, while rápido is an adjective that is frequently adapted into an adverb in informal speech. Sticking to tão depressa is the safest, most grammatically traditional choice.
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