Breakdown of ¡Ojalá el don de la belleza fuera infinito!
ser
to be
de
from / of
ojalá
hopefully / I hope
infinito
infinite
el don
gift
la belleza
beauty
Questions & Answers about ¡Ojalá el don de la belleza fuera infinito!
Why do we use fuera instead of the present subjunctive sea?
Because this is an impossible or highly unlikely wish. When you use ojalá with the present subjunctive, it means something might actually happen. Using the imperfect subjunctive fuera shows the speaker knows this is a fantasy, translating to 'If only the gift of beauty were infinite!'
Could I use regalo instead of don for 'gift'?
Not in this context. A regalo is a physical present you give someone for their birthday. Don is used for a natural talent, ability, or an abstract gift like beauty.
Why do we need the article la before belleza?
In Spanish, abstract nouns like belleza (beauty), amor (love), or tiempo (time) require a definite article when we talk about them in a general sense. In English, we just say 'beauty,' but Spanish requires la belleza.
Since fuera can come from ser or ir, how do we know which one it is here?
Context! The verbs ser (to be) and ir (to go) share the exact same forms in the imperfect subjunctive. Here, 'If only the gift of beauty went infinite' doesn't make sense, so we know it is from ser.
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