Breakdown of El competidor plagió el concepto como si lo ideara él mismo.
él
he
lo
it / him (direct object)
como
as / like (such as, similar to)
mismo
same / right (emphatic, e.g. ahora mismo)
si
if
el competidor
the competitor
idear
to devise
el concepto
the concept
plagiar
to plagiarize
Questions & Answers about El competidor plagió el concepto como si lo ideara él mismo.
How would I use the structure from this lesson to emphasize that the competitor was the one who plagiarized the concept?
Why is ideara in the imperfect subjunctive instead of the indicative or present subjunctive?
The phrase como si (as if) sets up a hypothetical scenario that isn't actually true. In Spanish, como si must always be followed by a past subjunctive (imperfect or pluperfect), never the present subjunctive or the indicative. Because the hypothetical devising is happening at the same time as the main action, we use the imperfect subjunctive (ideara or idease).
Why do we use él mismo instead of a reflexive pronoun like se for "himself"?
In this sentence, "himself" is used for emphasis ("he himself devised it"), not as a reflexive action (he isn't doing the action to himself). To emphasize a subject in Spanish, you use the subject pronoun plus mismo or misma. Therefore, we use él mismo. If you added se, it would incorrectly change the verb to mean "the concept devised itself."
What does the lo refer to in lo ideara?
Lo is the direct object pronoun replacing el concepto. It literally translates to "it" in the phrase "as if he devised it himself."
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