Breakdown of ¿Estabas pensando en nuestro antepasado?
estar
to be (location/state)
nuestro
our
el antepasado
ancestor
pensar en
to think about
Questions & Answers about ¿Estabas pensando en nuestro antepasado?
Why do we use en here instead of sobre or de to say "about"?
In Spanish, the verb pensar (to think) pairs with the preposition en when you are directing your thoughts toward someone or something. While English uses "think about," using direct translations for "about" like sobre or acerca de sounds unnatural with this verb. This is known as a governed preposition: the verb simply demands this specific preposition!
Could I just say ¿Pensabas en nuestro antepasado? instead of using estabas pensando?
Yes, you absolutely could. Both sentences translate to "Were you thinking about our ancestor?" However, estabas pensando uses the past continuous tense (the imperfect of estar plus the gerund pensando). This puts a stronger spotlight on the action being in progress at that exact moment in the past, like asking, "Were you in the middle of thinking about our ancestor right then?"
Since "our" refers to multiple people, why is it nuestro and not nuestros?
Possessive adjectives in Spanish always match the gender and number of the noun being owned, not the people who own it. Because antepasado (ancestor) is a singular, masculine noun, the possessive must be the singular, masculine nuestro.
Is antepasado always masculine, or does it change depending on the ancestor?
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