Question 1

Why is the verb convocara singular when it is talking about the plural las chicas?

Accepted Answer

Because of the personal a, las chicas acts as the direct object, not the subject. The se here is the impersonal se (meaning "one" or "someone"). When you use the impersonal se with a direct object introduced by the personal a, the verb must always be in the third-person singular.

Question 2

What would happen if we removed the a before las chicas?

Accepted Answer

The sentence would shift from using the impersonal se to the passive se. Without the personal a, las chicas becomes the grammatical subject of the sentence. Because the subject is plural, the verb would have to change to the plural form: Era necesario que se convocaran las chicas.

Question 3

Why is convocara in the imperfect subjunctive rather than the present subjunctive (convoque)?

Accepted Answer

The phrase Era necesario que is an impersonal expression that triggers the subjunctive mood. Because the triggering verb Era is in the past tense (imperfect), the sequence of tenses requires the following verb to also be in the past. Therefore, we use the imperfect subjunctive (convocara).

Question 4

Could I say convocase instead of convocara?

Accepted Answer

Yes, both are correct forms of the imperfect subjunctive and mean the exact same thing. However, in Latin America, the -ra ending (convocara) is far more common in spoken and written Spanish.

Era necesario que se convocara a las chicas para la audición.

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