La chica preguntó por qué esa pregunta me espantaba.
The girl asked why that question scared me away.
Breakdown of La chica preguntó por qué esa pregunta me espantaba.
esa
that (feminine)
la chica
the girl (older / teenager)
por qué
why
me
to me / me (direct object)
la pregunta
question
preguntar
to ask
espantar
to scare away
Questions & Answers about La chica preguntó por qué esa pregunta me espantaba.
Why is espantaba in the imperfect tense instead of the present?
This is an indirect question in past reported speech. The girl's original, direct question was likely in the present tense: ¿Por qué esa pregunta te espanta? (Why does that question scare you?). Because the reporting verb (preguntó) is in the past, we have to "backshift" the present tense verb from the quote into the imperfect tense (espantaba).
Why does por qué have a space and an accent mark here if there are no question marks?
Even in indirect questions without question marks, question words keep their accent marks. It is written as two words with an accent, por qué (why), to distinguish it from the single word porque (because).
Could the pronoun me attach to the end of the verb instead of going before it?
No, me must stay directly before the conjugated verb espantaba. In Spanish, object pronouns can only attach to the end of infinitives, gerunds (words ending in -ando or -iendo), and affirmative commands. Since espantaba is none of those, me espantaba is the only correct order.
Does espantaba mean exactly the same thing as asustaba?
They are very similar and both mean "scared" or "frightened," but they have slightly different flavors. Asustar focuses purely on the feeling of fear or being startled. Espantar can mean the same thing, but it often carries the extra idea of scaring someone or something away (like shooing a bird). Here, the question might have made the speaker want to flee the conversation.
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