Breakdown of Se esperaba que la revista publicara la primicia hoy.
hoy
today
esperar
to wait / to hope / to expect
que
that / than
la revista
the magazine
Questions & Answers about Se esperaba que la revista publicara la primicia hoy.
How does se esperaba que translate to "It was expected that"?
This is the impersonal se construction. In Spanish, instead of saying "It was expected" using a literal passive voice, it is much more natural to use se + the third-person singular verb. It acts like "One expected that" or "People expected that," but in English, we usually express this idea as "It was expected that."
Why is publicara in the subjunctive?
The verb esperar (to hope or expect) expresses a desire or expectation. When you combine it with que and a new subject (la revista), it triggers the subjunctive in the second clause because the action of publishing is viewed as a hoped-for event rather than an established fact.
If the magazine is publishing the scoop "today" (hoy), why is publicara in a past tense?
This happens because of the sequence of tenses. The main verb, esperaba, is in the past (the imperfect tense). Even though the publication was expected to happen hoy (today), the expectation itself was in the past. Because the main clause is in the past, the subordinate verb must take the past subjunctive (publicara) to match it.