Breakdown of ¡Ojalá el hada viniera al castillo grandísimo!
grande
big
al
to the
venir
to come
el castillo
the castle
ojalá
hopefully / I hope
el hada
fairy
Questions & Answers about ¡Ojalá el hada viniera al castillo grandísimo!
How do we form the imperfect subjunctive viniera from the verb venir?
To form the imperfect subjunctive, you always start with the ellos/ellas form of the preterite tense. For venir, that form is irregular: vinieron. You drop the -ron to get the stem vinie-, and then add the imperfect subjunctive ending for the third-person singular, which is -ra. That gives us viniera.
Wait, isn't hada a feminine word? Why does it use el?
Why use the imperfect subjunctive (viniera) after ojalá instead of the present subjunctive (venga)?
Using ojalá with the imperfect subjunctive expresses a wish that is unlikely, impossible, or contrary to fact in the present moment, like saying 'If only she came!' or 'I wish she would come!'. If you used the present subjunctive (venga), it would mean you think there is a realistic chance she might actually come (meaning 'Hopefully she comes!').
What does the ending on grandísimo do?
The suffix -ísimo is added to adjectives to mean extremely or super. To add it to grande (big), you drop the final -e and attach the ending to match the masculine singular noun castillo. So, grande becomes grandísimo (huge or extremely big).
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