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En la sesión, ella estaba insistiendo en que el trauma era real.

En la sesión, ella estaba insistiendo en que el trauma era real.
In the session, she was insisting that the trauma was real.
From Lesson 344:Prepositions before 'que' (de que, en que)·Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about En la sesión, ella estaba insistiendo en que el trauma era real.

Why is it en que instead of just que? In English we just say "insisting that."
In Spanish, the verb insistir always requires the preposition en to express what someone is insisting on. When the thing being insisted on is a whole clause starting with que (that), you must keep the preposition, resulting in insistir en que. Dropping the preposition in these cases is a common mistake known as queísmo.
I thought verbs like insistir triggered the subjunctive. Why is it the indicative era and not the subjunctive fuera?
It depends on the meaning! When insistir en que means to state firmly that something is a fact (as it does here: she is declaring the trauma was real), it takes the indicative. However, if it means demanding that someone do something (like "she insisted that he go to therapy"), it becomes a verb of influence and requires the subjunctive.
Why is it el trauma and not la trauma, since it ends in an a?
Trauma is one of several words in Spanish of Greek origin that end in -ma but are actually masculine. This is a common pattern to watch out for. Other everyday examples you have likely seen include el problema, el sistema, and el clima.
Why use the imperfect era here instead of the preterite fue?
We use the imperfect era because it describes an ongoing state or characteristic in the past. She was describing the nature of the trauma as an ongoing reality, rather than a single event that started and ended.
Could I just say ella insistía instead of ella estaba insistiendo?
Yes, you can. Using the imperfect ella insistía would also translate to "she was insisting" or "she insisted." However, using the past continuous form (estaba plus the gerund insistiendo) places extra focus on the fact that the action was actively in progress at that exact moment during the session.

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