Breakdown of Le pregunté si buscaba una mujer con buen físico o un amor apasionado.
un
a, an (masculine)
una
a, an (feminine)
la mujer
the woman
con
with
el amor
the love
o
or
buscar
to look for
le
to him / to her / to you (formal)
bueno
good
preguntar
to ask
si
if
el físico
physique
apasionado
passionate
Questions & Answers about Le pregunté si buscaba una mujer con buen físico o un amor apasionado.
Why is buscaba in the imperfect tense instead of the preterite?
When reporting a question in the past, the tense of the original question shifts backward. The person originally asked a present tense question like ¿Buscas...? (Are you looking for...). Because the reporting verb pregunté is in the past, that present tense shifts to the imperfect buscaba (he was looking for).
What is the role of si in this sentence?
The word si means 'if' or 'whether.' It is used to connect the reporting verb (pregunté) to a reported yes/no question. Notice it does not have an accent mark; sí with an accent means 'yes,' while si without an accent means 'if.'
Why is there no word for 'for' after buscaba?
Why does the sentence use buen físico instead of bueno físico?
How do we know Le pregunté means 'I asked him' and not 'I asked her'?
Just from the Spanish sentence alone, we actually don't! The indirect object pronoun le can mean 'to him,' 'to her,' or 'to you' (formal). We only know it means 'him' here because of the provided English translation. In a real conversation, previous context would make it clear who you were talking to.
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