Breakdown of Queríamos que el alcalde no beneficiara solamente a los turistas.
no
no, not
querer
to want
que
that / than
el turista
tourist
solamente
only
el alcalde
the mayor
beneficiar
to benefit
a
personal 'a' (marks a human direct object)
Questions & Answers about Queríamos que el alcalde no beneficiara solamente a los turistas.
How do we form the imperfect subjunctive beneficiara?
To form the imperfect subjunctive, we start with the third-person plural ("they") form of the preterite tense. For beneficiar, that is beneficiaron. We drop the -ron ending to get the stem beneficia-, and then add the past subjunctive ending. Since the subject is el alcalde (he), we add -ra, giving us beneficiara.
Why is beneficiara in the past subjunctive instead of the present subjunctive?
The tense in the main clause determines the tense in the subjunctive clause. Because the triggering verb queríamos (we wanted) is in the past, it requires the past subjunctive (beneficiara). If the sentence were in the present, like we want (queremos), we would use the present subjunctive (beneficie).
Why is there an a before los turistas?
This is the personal a. In Spanish, when the direct object of a verb is a specific person or group of people, we put an a right before it. Since the tourists are people receiving the action of the verb beneficiar, the personal a is required here.
Could I say solo instead of solamente here?
Yes, you can! Solo and solamente both mean "only" and are completely interchangeable in this sentence.
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