Question 1

Why is adelgazara in the subjunctive here if it is stating a fact that he actually lost weight?

Accepted Answer

The phrase de ahí que (meaning 'hence' or 'that is why') always triggers the subjunctive in Spanish, even when you are stating a confirmed fact or a real outcome. Because the action of eating happened in the past (comía), we must use the imperfect subjunctive (adelgazara) to match the timeframe.

Question 2

Could I use the present subjunctive (adelgace) instead of adelgazara?

Accepted Answer

Not in this sentence. The trigger clause happens in the past (Él comía means 'he ate' or 'he used to eat'). To maintain the sequence of tenses, the resulting action must also be in a past tense, which means using the imperfect subjunctive (adelgazara). If the first half were in the present tense (Él come), then you would use adelgace.

Question 3

How does adelgazara translate to 'lost weight'? I thought weight was 'peso'.

Accepted Answer

While 'to lose weight' can be literally translated as perder peso or bajar de peso, Spanish very commonly uses the single verb adelgazar (derived from the adjective delgado, meaning 'thin') to express this exact same idea.

Question 4

Could we just say saludablemente instead of de manera saludable?

Accepted Answer

Yes! Both mean 'healthily' or 'in a healthy way'. Using de manera or de forma plus an adjective is a very natural and common alternative to adverbs ending in -mente, and they are completely interchangeable here.

Él comía mucha proteína, de ahí que adelgazara de manera saludable.

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