Breakdown of No quería que la disciplina fuera demasiado exigente.
ser
to be
no
no, not
querer
to want
que
that / than
demasiado
too much / too
la disciplina
discipline
exigente
demanding
Questions & Answers about No quería que la disciplina fuera demasiado exigente.
Why is fuera used here instead of era or sea?
The main verb quería (I didn't want) expresses a desire or influence, which requires the subjunctive in the second part of the sentence. Because quería is in the past tense, it forces the second verb into the past subjunctive (fuera) rather than the present subjunctive (sea).
Wait, doesn't fuera mean 'went'? How do we know it means 'was' here?
The verbs ser (to be) and ir (to go) share the exact same forms in the imperfect subjunctive (fuera, fueras, etc.), just like they do in the preterite past tense (fui, fuiste). You have to rely on context to tell them apart. 'The discipline went too demanding' makes no sense here, so we know it comes from ser.
Why doesn't demasiado end in an '-a' to match the feminine noun la disciplina?
In this sentence, demasiado means 'too' and acts as an adverb modifying the adjective exigente (demanding). Adverbs never change their endings to match gender or number. It would only change to demasiada if it were describing the noun directly (for example, demasiada disciplina meaning 'too much discipline').
The English translation says 'to be', but there's no Spanish infinitive. Why?
In English, we often use an infinitive after expressing a desire (like 'I wanted it to be...'). Spanish doesn't do this when the subject changes. Since 'I' am wanting, but 'the discipline' is the thing being demanding, Spanish requires que plus a new clause with a conjugated subjunctive verb.
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