Breakdown of Francamente, yo esperaba que la imprenta estuviera abierta para cuando cayera la noche.
yo
I
estar
to be (location/state)
abierto
open
para
for
la noche
the night
esperar
to wait / to hope / to expect
que
that / than
caer
to fall
cuando
when (statement)
francamente
frankly
la imprenta
the printing press
Questions & Answers about Francamente, yo esperaba que la imprenta estuviera abierta para cuando cayera la noche.
Why does para cuando trigger the imperfect subjunctive cayera here?
The phrase para cuando means "by the time." When setting a deadline for an event that was still in the future from a past perspective, Spanish requires the subjunctive. Since the main action (esperaba) is in the past, the anticipated event (nightfall) must take the imperfect subjunctive (cayera).
Why is the first subjunctive, estuviera, used after esperaba que?
The verb esperar (to hope or expect) expresses a desire or expectation, which triggers the subjunctive in the clause that follows it. Because the main verb esperaba is in the past tense, the dependent verb must also be in the past (imperfect) subjunctive: estuviera.
Why use estuviera abierta rather than fuera abierta?
We use estar here because it describes a state or condition—the printing press being in an "open" state. If you used ser (fuera abierta), it would create a passive voice sentence meaning you expected the press "to be opened" by someone right at that moment, rather than just being open already.
Is cayera la noche the usual way to say "night fell" in Spanish?
Yes, caer la noche is a very common and natural expression for "nightfall" or "night falling," just like in English. Here, the verb caer (to fall) takes its imperfect subjunctive form, cayera.
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