Breakdown of Nos importa que no se te raye el adorno valioso.
no
no, not
que
that / than
te
to you / you (direct object)
nos
to us
importar
to matter / to care
se
(marker of an accidental/unintentional event)
el adorno
the ornament / the decoration
valioso
valuable
rayar
to scratch
Questions & Answers about Nos importa que no se te raye el adorno valioso.
Why do we use se te raye here instead of just saying that you don't scratch it?
This is the accidental se construction. By saying se te raye instead of tú rayes (you scratch), it removes the blame from you. It translates closer to 'the ornament doesn't get scratched on you.' The se shows it is an accident, and the te shows who is affected by the accident.
What is the subject of the verb raye?
The subject is actually el adorno valioso (the valuable ornament). In the accidental se construction, the thing getting damaged or lost becomes the grammatical subject. Since there is only one ornament, raye is in the singular form. If there were multiple ornaments, it would be se te rayen los adornos.
Why is the verb raye instead of raya?
Raye is in the subjunctive mood. We use the subjunctive here because the first part of the sentence, Nos importa que (It matters to us that), expresses a subjective opinion or feeling. This triggers the subjunctive for the verb that follows que.
Why is it Nos importa and not Nos importamos?
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