Learn Spanish (Latin America): ¡Ojalá fueras más valiente para deshacer este desastre! - If only you were braver to undo this disaster!

Fueras is the imperfect (past) subjunctive of ser. When we pair ojalá with the imperfect subjunctive, it expresses an unreal or impossible wish about the present. It translates to 'If only you were' and implies that, unfortunately, right now you are not.

Does ojalá always need the word que after it?

No, adding que after ojalá is completely optional. You will often hear both ojalá fueras and ojalá que fueras in Latin America, and they mean the exact same thing.

Why use a form of ser (fueras) for being brave, instead of estar?

We use ser because being brave (valiente) is viewed as a core personality trait. Even though the speaker wants you to act bravely right now, they are expressing a wish that you were a braver person by nature.

Why do we use para before deshacer instead of por?