Breakdown of El hombre preguntó rápidamente si era cariñosa y atractiva.
ser
to be
y
and
rápido
fast
el hombre
the man
Questions & Answers about El hombre preguntó rápidamente si era cariñosa y atractiva.
Why is the imperfect tense (era) used here to mean "was"?
When reporting a question in the past, you usually take a step back in time. If the man's original question was in the present tense ("Are you affectionate?"), it shifts to the imperfect tense (era) when you report it in the past. The preterite (preguntó) is used for the main action of asking, because that specific action was completed.
Why doesn't the word si have an accent mark in this sentence?
Without an accent mark, si means "if" or "whether." This is exactly what you need to report a yes/no question. If it had an accent mark (sí), it would mean "yes."
era can mean "I was," "he was," or "she was." How do we know who the man is asking about?
Out of context, we don't! The verb form era can refer to yo, él, ella, or usted. The English translation tells us it means "I was" here, but in a real Spanish conversation, the surrounding context would make it obvious. If you needed to clear up any confusion, you could include the pronoun: si yo era cariñosa....
Why are the adjectives cariñosa and atractiva in the feminine form?