Breakdown of El productor aconsejó que no repitiéramos el error.
no
no, not
repetir
to repeat
que
that / than
el error
mistake
Questions & Answers about El productor aconsejó que no repitiéramos el error.
Why is repitiéramos in the imperfect subjunctive?
The verb aconsejó (advised) is a verb of influence, meaning it expresses a command, request, or strong suggestion. When the main verb expressing this influence is in a past tense like the preterite, the following verb in the que clause must be in the past (imperfect) subjunctive to match the timeline.
The English translation says "advised us not to repeat." Why doesn't the Spanish use an infinitive like no repetir?
In English, we typically use "to" plus an infinitive for reported commands (like "told me to go"). In Spanish, when the person giving the advice is different from the person receiving it, you must use que followed by a conjugated verb in the subjunctive. Literally, this sentence is structured as "The producer advised that we not repeat the mistake."
Why is it spelled repitiéramos with an "i" instead of an "e" after the "p"?
The infinitive is repetir, but it has a stem change from "e" to "i" in the third person of the preterite tense, giving us repitieron (they repeated). The imperfect subjunctive is always built by dropping the "-ron" from that ellos/ellas preterite form, so that "i" carries over into all imperfect subjunctive forms, including repitiéramos.
The English translation says "advised us," but there is no nos (us) before aconsejó. Is it hidden?