Question 1

The translation says "didn't even," but I don't see the word no in the Spanish sentence. Why is that?

Accepted Answer

In Spanish, if a negative phrase like ni siquiera (not even) comes before the verb, you don't use no. If you want to put it after the verb, you must add no before the verb to make a double negative: Nosotros no intentamos ni siquiera esas acrobacias peligrosas.

Question 2

How do we know intentamos means "didn't try" (past) and not "don't try" (present)?

Accepted Answer

For regular -ar and -ir verbs, the nosotros form is exactly the same in both the present tense and the preterite (simple past) tense. Without more context, this sentence could actually mean "We don't even try" or "We didn't even try." You would rely on the surrounding conversation to know which one it is!

Question 3

Could I use probamos instead of intentamos to mean "try" here?

Accepted Answer

It wouldn't sound natural here. Intentar means "to try" in the sense of making an attempt to do an action or achieve a goal. Probar means "to try" in the sense of testing something out, like tasting a new food or trying on clothes. Because acrobatics require a physical attempt, intentamos is the correct choice.

Question 4

Why is Nosotros included at the beginning when we usually skip subject pronouns?

Accepted Answer

You're right that subject pronouns are usually dropped because the verb ending (-mos in intentamos) already tells us who is doing the action. Including Nosotros here adds emphasis or contrast. It makes it sound like you are specifying, "We didn't even try those dangerous acrobatics (but maybe those other people did)."

Nosotros ni siquiera intentamos esas acrobacias peligrosas.

Breakdown of Nosotros ni siquiera intentamos esas acrobacias peligrosas.

Questions & Answers about Nosotros ni siquiera intentamos esas acrobacias peligrosas.

Learn Nosotros ni siquiera intentamos esas acrobacias peligrosas and more in Spanish