Breakdown of Él nos obligó a salir, y exigió que olvidáramos la pauta.
él
he
y
and
a
to
salir
to go out / to leave
que
that / than
nos
to us
olvidar
to forget
exigir
to demand
la pauta
the guideline
obligar
to force / to oblige (compel)
Questions & Answers about Él nos obligó a salir, y exigió que olvidáramos la pauta.
Why is olvidáramos in the past subjunctive?
Because it follows a past-tense verb of demanding (exigió). When reporting a past command, request, or piece of advice, the verb in the que clause must shift to the past subjunctive (also known as the imperfect subjunctive).
Since he is demanding it, why can't we use the present subjunctive olvidemos?
Because the main action (exigió) happened in the past. To maintain the sequence of tenses, a past-tense trigger requires a past-tense subjunctive. You would only use olvidemos if the main verb were in the present tense, such as exige que olvidemos.
Why is the first command expressed with the infinitive (a salir) rather than a que clause like the second one?
Certain verbs of influence, like obligar (to force), animar (to encourage), and ayudar (to help), take the preposition a plus an infinitive instead of using que + subjunctive. The pronoun nos already establishes who is being forced to leave.
Why does olvidáramos have a written accent mark?
In the past subjunctive, the nosotros form always requires a written accent mark on the vowel immediately before the -ramos or -semos ending. This preserves the natural spoken stress of the word.
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