Learn Spanish (Latin America): Siempre he imaginado la vida de aquellos desconocidos. - I have always imagined the lives of those strangers.

Siempre he imaginado la vida de aquellos desconocidos.

I have always imagined the lives of those strangers.

Breakdown of Siempre he imaginado la vida de aquellos desconocidos.

Questions & Answers about Siempre he imaginado la vida de aquellos desconocidos.

Why doesn't siempre go between he and imaginado like in the English 'have always imagined'?

In Spanish, the auxiliary verb (he) and the past participle (imaginado) must stay glued together. You cannot separate them with adverbs like siempre. Therefore, siempre must go before the entire verb block.

Why does the Spanish say la vida (singular) when the English translation says 'the lives' (plural)?

In Spanish, when a group of people each possesses one of a certain thing (like a life, a head, or a nose), you usually use the singular noun. Since each stranger only has one life, it is more natural to say la vida rather than las vidas.

Why use aquellos instead of esos for 'those'?

Both mean 'those', but aquellos indicates something further away in space, time, or emotional distance than esos. Here, it gives a poetic sense of distance, emphasizing that these strangers are entirely removed from the speaker's world.

Where does the word desconocidos come from?

It comes from the verb conocer (to know or be acquainted with). By adding the negative prefix des-, you get desconocer (not to know). The past participle desconocido translates literally to 'unknown', and here it functions as a noun meaning 'stranger'.