Breakdown of Por mucho que cavábamos, no encontrábamos agua.
no
no, not
mucho
many / a lot
el agua
water
encontrar
to find
que
that / than
por
for / by / through / in/during (part of the day)
cavar
to dig
Questions & Answers about Por mucho que cavábamos, no encontrábamos agua.
Why is cavábamos in the indicative instead of the subjunctive here?
In concessive clauses with por mucho que (no matter how much), you use the indicative when declaring a known fact or an experienced reality. Since the speakers actually dug in the past and are confirming that fact, the indicative cavábamos is correct. If they were talking about a hypothetical or unknown situation, like 'no matter how much we might dig tomorrow,' they would use the subjunctive.
Could I use por más que instead of por mucho que in this sentence?
Yes, absolutely! Por más que and por mucho que are generally interchangeable when they mean 'no matter how much' or 'however much.' Just like por mucho que, por más que takes the indicative for experienced facts and the subjunctive for hypothetical ones.
Why use the imperfect cavábamos and encontrábamos rather than the preterite (cavamos, encontramos)?
The imperfect tense is used here to emphasize the ongoing, continuous nature of the actions in the past. They were in the process of digging for a while (cavábamos), and during that time, they were continuously not finding water (no encontrábamos). Using the preterite would make it sound like a single, instantly completed event rather than a prolonged, frustrating effort.
Why isn't there an article before agua?
When talking about an unspecified quantity of an uncountable noun like agua, Spanish often omits the article, just like English does in 'we didn't find water.' If you were referring to a specific, previously mentioned supply of water, you would use the article (which would be el agua since agua is a feminine noun that starts with a stressed 'a').
Learn Por mucho que cavábamos, no encontrábamos agua 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