Breakdown of Me molestaba que mi esposo los malcriara y nunca los castigara.
y
and
el esposo
husband
mi
my
que
that / than
molestar
to bother
nunca
never
castigar
to punish
malcriar
to spoil
los
them (masculine direct object)
Questions & Answers about Me molestaba que mi esposo los malcriara y nunca los castigara.
Why are the verbs malcriara and castigara in the imperfect subjunctive?
The main verb, molestaba, expresses an emotion in the past ("it bothered me"). When a past-tense verb expresses emotion, doubt, or influence, the verb in the following que clause must be in the imperfect subjunctive.
Why is the main verb molestaba in the imperfect tense rather than the preterite?
Is it okay to say malcriase and castigase instead?
Yes! The imperfect subjunctive has two sets of valid endings: the -ra endings (like malcriara) and the -se endings (like malcriase). They mean exactly the same thing, though the -ra forms are much more common in Latin American Spanish.
Why is "los" repeated before both verbs?
Does castigar need a spelling change in the imperfect subjunctive?
No. In the present subjunctive, you have to change the g to gu to keep the hard "g" sound (like in castigue). But because the imperfect subjunctive ending starts with an a (castigara), the g naturally keeps its hard sound without any spelling changes.
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