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Preferíamos que él madurara en nuestro hogar.

Preferíamos que él madurara en nuestro hogar.
We preferred that he matured in our home.
From Lesson 185:Past subjunctive triggers·Spanish (Latin America)

Breakdown of Preferíamos que él madurara en nuestro hogar.

él
he
en
in / on / at
nuestro
our
preferir
to prefer
que
that / than
madurar
to mature
el hogar
home

Questions & Answers about Preferíamos que él madurara en nuestro hogar.

Why is madurara used here instead of a normal past tense?
The main verb Preferíamos expresses a preference or desire, which triggers the subjunctive. Because this preference was held in the past, the second verb (after que) must be in the past (imperfect) subjunctive.
How do you form the imperfect subjunctive for madurar?
First, take the 'they' form of the regular preterite past tense: maduraron. Next, drop the -ron ending to get your stem (madura-). Finally, add the imperfect subjunctive endings. For él, the ending is -ra, giving us madurara.
Could I use madurase instead of madurara?
Yes, madurase is grammatically correct and means the exact same thing. The imperfect subjunctive actually has two sets of endings: -ra and -se. However, in Latin America, the -ra endings are much more common in everyday speech, so madurara is the most natural choice here.
Why does the sentence use hogar instead of casa?
While casa usually refers to the physical building (a house), hogar translates more closely to the emotional concept of a 'home.' It implies warmth, family, and a safe place for upbringing, which perfectly fits a sentence about someone maturing.
Why use the imperfect Preferíamos instead of the preterite Preferimos?
The imperfect Preferíamos is used here because a preference is usually an ongoing feeling or state of mind in the past. If you used the preterite Preferimos, it would sound like a specific, sudden decision made at a definitive moment.

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