Breakdown of Não queria que o informador estivesse a preparar a denúncia.
não
not / no
estar
to be (temporary / location)
querer
to want
preparar
to prepare
que
that (conjunction)
o informador
the informant
a denúncia
the denunciation
Questions & Answers about Não queria que o informador estivesse a preparar a denúncia.
Why use the continuous form estivesse a preparar instead of just the simple imperfect subjunctive preparasse?
Just like in English, the continuous form emphasizes an ongoing action. Não queria que o informador preparasse a denúncia means "I didn't want the informant to prepare the denunciation" (a general event). Using estivesse a preparar translates to "to be preparing", stressing that the preparation was an ongoing process at that specific moment in the past.
What exactly triggers the imperfect subjunctive estivesse in this sentence?
The subjunctive is triggered by the expression of a desire or will: Não queria que... (I didn't want...). Because the main verb queria is in a past tense (the imperfect indicative), the verb in the dependent clause must also agree in time, resulting in the imperfect subjunctive estivesse.
Since queria can mean "I wanted", "he wanted", or "she wanted", how do we know the subject is "I"?
Is the word denúncia exactly the same as the English "denunciation"?
They are related, but denúncia is used much more broadly in Portuguese. While it can mean a dramatic denunciation, it is the standard everyday word for a police report, a formal complaint, or a tip-off about an illegal act.
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