Learn Spanish (Latin America): Me molestó que el cantante no saliera del camerino. - It bothered me that the singer didn't come out of the dressing room.

Me molestó que el cantante no saliera del camerino.

It bothered me that the singer didn't come out of the dressing room.

Breakdown of Me molestó que el cantante no saliera del camerino.

Questions & Answers about Me molestó que el cantante no saliera del camerino.

Why do we use the imperfect subjunctive saliera in this sentence?

The first part of the sentence expresses an emotional reaction (Me molestó) to an action performed by a different subject (el cantante). Because the triggering emotion is in the past tense, the action that caused the emotion must be in the past (imperfect) subjunctive.

Could I say Me molestaba instead of Me molestó here?

Yes, but it changes the meaning. Using the preterite Me molestó means this was a single, completed event (you were bothered on that specific night). If you used the imperfect Me molestaba, it would imply an ongoing feeling in the past, translating closer to 'It used to bother me' or 'It was bothering me.'

Would it be wrong to say no saliese instead of no saliera?

Not at all! The -se endings (like saliese) and the -ra endings (like saliera) are grammatically interchangeable for the imperfect subjunctive. However, in Latin America, the -ra forms are much more common in everyday spoken Spanish.

Can I use camerino for a dressing room in a clothing store?