Breakdown of Me gustó que recibieran una gran ovación.
una
a, an (feminine)
grande
big
recibir
to receive
que
that / than
me
to me / me (direct object)
gustar
to like
la ovación
the ovation
Questions & Answers about Me gustó que recibieran una gran ovación.
Why is recibieran in the imperfect subjunctive?
The imperfect subjunctive is triggered by Me gustó que.... Whenever you express an emotion or judgment in the past tense about an action performed by someone else, that second action requires the past (imperfect) subjunctive.
Why is gustó in the singular here? Shouldn't it be plural because 'they' received the ovation?
With verbs like gustar, the thing you like is the grammatical subject of the sentence. Here, the subject isn't 'they'—it's the entire action: que recibieran una gran ovación (that they received a big ovation). When the subject is a full clause like this, gustar is always conjugated in the third-person singular.
Could I say Me gustaba que recibieran una gran ovación instead?
Yes, but it changes the meaning. Using the preterite Me gustó means you are talking about a specific, one-time event (like a single performance you just watched). Using the imperfect Me gustaba means 'I used to like that they received a big ovation,' implying a repeated occurrence in the past. Both tenses trigger the imperfect subjunctive in the second half of the sentence.
Why is it gran ovación and not grande ovación?
The adjective grande drops its final letters to become gran whenever it is placed directly before a singular noun, regardless of whether that noun is masculine or feminine (ovación is feminine). Placing it before the noun gives it a figurative meaning (a magnificent or great ovation) rather than just referring to literal physical size.
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