Learn Spanish (Latin America): Ese hombrón grita como si fuera un ogro feroz. - That big man yells as if he were a fierce ogre.

Ese hombrón grita como si fuera un ogro feroz.

That big man yells as if he were a fierce ogre.

Breakdown of Ese hombrón grita como si fuera un ogro feroz.

Questions & Answers about Ese hombrón grita como si fuera un ogro feroz.

Why do we use fuera here instead of the present subjunctive like sea?

In Spanish, the phrase como si (as if) is always followed by a past subjunctive form. It is never followed by the present subjunctive or present indicative. Even though the yelling is happening right now in the present (grita), the comparison to an ogre is unreal and hypothetical, so we must use the imperfect subjunctive fuera.

I recognize hombre, but what does the -ón ending in hombrón do?

The suffix -ón is an augmentative, which means it emphasizes a larger size or greater intensity. It turns hombre (man) into hombrón (big, imposing man). You will see this suffix often on everyday words in Spanish, like taza (mug) becoming tazón (bowl).

Is fuera here the imperfect subjunctive of ser (to be) or ir (to go)?

It comes from ser (to be). The imperfect subjunctive forms for ser and ir are completely identical (fuera, fueras, fueran, etc.). You just have to look at the context to tell them apart. Since "as if he went an ogre" doesn't make sense, we know it translates to "as if he were an ogre."

If we changed the sentence to the past tense ("That big man as if he were an ogre"), would change?