Breakdown of El invitado extravagante fingió sorpresa, como si no hubiera esperado la invitación.
no
no, not
la invitación
the invitation
la sorpresa
the surprise
esperar
to wait / to hope / to expect
como
as / like (such as, similar to)
el invitado
the guest
haber
(auxiliary) have
si
if
fingir
to pretend
extravagante
eccentric (flamboyant, extravagant)
Questions & Answers about El invitado extravagante fingió sorpresa, como si no hubiera esperado la invitación.
Why do we use hubiera esperado (past perfect subjunctive) here instead of just esperara (imperfect subjunctive)?
The phrase como si (as if) always triggers the subjunctive in Spanish. We use the past perfect subjunctive (hubiera esperado) because the action of not expecting the invitation happened before he feigned surprise. If we used the imperfect subjunctive (como si no esperara), it would mean he didn't expect it at the exact same moment he was acting surprised.
Does extravagante mean that the guest spends a lot of money?
Not necessarily! While extravagant in English often refers to spending recklessly, extravagante in Spanish is a mild false friend. It generally means eccentric, peculiar, odd, or bizarre in appearance or behavior.
Could I use the alternative subjunctive form hubiese esperado instead of hubiera esperado?
Yes, absolutely. In Spanish, the imperfect subjunctive has two sets of endings (using -ra or -se). Therefore, the past perfect subjunctive also has two forms: hubiera esperado and hubiese esperado. They mean the exact same thing, though the -ra form is much more common in spoken Latin American Spanish.
What is the infinitive of fingió, and does it have any tricky spelling rules?
The infinitive is fingir (to feign, fake, or pretend). It is regular in the preterite tense used here (fingió), but it is a good time to remember its present tense quirk: to keep the hard 'h' sound, the first person changes the g to a j (yo finjo), while the rest keep the g (like tú finges).
Learn El invitado extravagante fingió sorpresa, como si no hubiera esperado la invitación and more in Spanish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free