Breakdown of El niño lloraba mucho, pero espero que su comportamiento mejore hoy.
el niño
the boy
pero
but
mucho
many / a lot
su
his/her/its/their/your (formal)
hoy
today
llorar
to cry
mejorar
to improve
esperar
to wait / to hope / to expect
que
that / than
el comportamiento
the behavior
Questions & Answers about El niño lloraba mucho, pero espero que su comportamiento mejore hoy.
Why is it mejore and not mejora?
Because of the phrase espero que (I hope/expect that). When you express a hope or expectation about someone or something else (here, his behavior), Spanish requires the present subjunctive tense. For the regular -ar verb mejorar (to improve), the 'it' form in the subjunctive is mejore.
Why is the verb llorar conjugated as lloraba (imperfect) instead of lloró (preterite)?
The English translation says 'I expect,' but doesn't espero mean 'I wait' or 'I hope'?
It can mean all three: to wait, to hope, and to expect! You have to use context to figure out which one fits best. In this sentence, both 'I hope' and 'I expect' make perfect sense. Either way, espero que followed by a new subject triggers the subjunctive.
Why doesn't the Spanish translate exactly word-for-word to 'expect his behavior to improve'?
In English, we can say 'I expect [something] to [do an action]'. But in Spanish, if you have a desire or expectation about a different subject, you can't just use an infinitive verb (like mejorar). You have to build a two-part sentence connected by que: 'I expect that his behavior improves' (espero que su comportamiento mejore).
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