Breakdown of Fue increíble que ella hubiera sobresalido tanto.
ser
to be
ella
she
que
that / than
increíble
incredible
haber
(auxiliary) have
tanto
as much / as many / so much
sobresalir
to stand out / excel
Questions & Answers about Fue increíble que ella hubiera sobresalido tanto.
Why do we use the past perfect subjunctive (hubiera sobresalido) here instead of the imperfect subjunctive (sobresaliera)?
We use the past perfect subjunctive to talk about an action that happened before another past action. The main clause (Fue increíble) is in the past. Since she "had stood out" prior to (or leading up to) the moment it was considered incredible, we need the "had done" form: the imperfect subjunctive of haber (hubiera) plus the past participle (sobresalido).
Does Fue increíble que always trigger the subjunctive, even if it describes something that actually happened?
Yes! Expressions of emotion, judgment, or subjective evaluation (like Fue increíble que, Fue bueno que, etc.) always trigger the subjunctive in the following clause. Even though her standing out is a stated fact, Spanish requires the subjunctive because the main clause focuses on the subjective, emotional reaction to that fact.
The verb here is sobresalir. Does it conjugate exactly like salir?
Yes, it does. Sobresalir is a compound of the prefix sobre- (over/above) and salir (to go out/come out), meaning "to stand out" or "to excel." It follows the exact same conjugation rules as salir, which is why the past participle here is simply sobresalido.
Why doesn't tanto change to tanta to match the feminine subject ella?
In this sentence, tanto is functioning as an adverb meaning "so much," and it modifies the verb phrase hubiera sobresalido. Adverbs are invariable, meaning they never change their form for gender or number. It would only change to tanta if it were an adjective describing a feminine noun (for example, tanta atención).
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