Breakdown of Ojalá el genio pudiera conceder mi deseo.
mi
my
poder
to be able to / can
ojalá
hopefully / I hope
el genio
genie
conceder
to grant
el deseo
wish
Questions & Answers about Ojalá el genio pudiera conceder mi deseo.
How do we get the form pudiera from the verb poder?
To form the imperfect subjunctive, you always start with the plural "they" form of the preterite (simple past) tense. For poder, the preterite form is pudieron. Drop the -ron at the end to get the irregular stem pudie-, and then add the ending -ra for the third-person singular, resulting in pudiera.
Why does this sentence use the imperfect subjunctive (pudiera) instead of the present subjunctive (pueda)?
The word ojalá expresses a hope or wish and always requires a subjunctive verb. Using the imperfect subjunctive (pudiera) here means this is a hypothetical or unlikely wish right now, translating to "I wish the genie could...". If you used the present subjunctive (Ojalá el genio pueda...), it would mean you think it is a real possibility: "Hopefully the genie can...".
I thought genio meant "genius". Why is it translated as "genie" here?
Why isn't conceder conjugated in this sentence?
Because it directly follows another conjugated verb (pudiera). Just like in English where we say "could grant" rather than conjugating both verbs, in Spanish, the second verb stays in its dictionary (infinitive) form: pudiera conceder.
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