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No quería que los criaras sin disciplina.

No quería que los criaras sin disciplina.
I didn't want you to raise them without discipline.
From Lesson 185:Past subjunctive triggers·Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about No quería que los criaras sin disciplina.

Why is the verb criaras in the imperfect subjunctive form here?
The main verb No quería (I didn't want) expresses a desire in the past. When you express a past desire, influence, or emotion that affects what someone else does, the verb in the second clause (after que) must be in the past (imperfect) subjunctive.
How do I form the imperfect subjunctive criaras from the verb criar?
To form the imperfect subjunctive, you always start with the third-person plural (ellos/ellas) form of the preterite tense. For criar (to raise), that form is criaron. Drop the -ron ending and add the past subjunctive endings. For tú, the ending is -ras, giving us criaras.
Could I attach los to the end of the verb, making it criaraslos?
No, you can't attach it here. Because criaras is a conjugated verb, the direct object pronoun los (them) must go immediately before it. You can only attach pronouns to the end of infinitives, gerunds (the -ndo forms), and affirmative commands.
Since quería can mean 'I wanted' or 'he/she wanted', how do we know who the subject is?
Context is the only way to know! Out of context, No quería could indeed mean 'He didn't want' or 'She didn't want'. In a real conversation, it would be obvious who you are talking about, but if it wasn't, you could add yo for clarity: Yo no quería que los criaras...

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