Breakdown of Se dudaba que el supuesto contrato fuera real.
ser
to be
que
that / than
se
(impersonal) one / passive marker
el contrato
the contract
Questions & Answers about Se dudaba que el supuesto contrato fuera real.
Why do we use se dudaba instead of just saying dudaba?
Se dudaba uses the impersonal se construction, meaning "it was doubted" or "people doubted." If you just said dudaba, it would mean a specific, known person ("he," "she," or "I") was doubting the contract. Adding se makes the subject general and unidentified, which translates well to the passive voice in English.
Why is the verb fuera in the imperfect subjunctive rather than the present subjunctive (sea)?
The main verb (dudaba) expresses doubt, which triggers the subjunctive in the following que clause. Because the doubt happened in the past (dudaba is in the imperfect tense), the rules of tense agreement require the subjunctive verb to also be in the past. Therefore, we use the imperfect subjunctive fuera.
Does supuesto mean "supposed to" in this context?
No, it is a bit of a false friend here. While it translates literally to "supposed," when used as an adjective before a noun it means "alleged" or "so-called." El supuesto contrato means "the alleged contract." To say someone is "supposed to" do something, you would use a different structure entirely, like se supone que.
Could I use fuese instead of fuera in this sentence?