Breakdown of Por el fanatismo, juraron desvelarse hasta que tuvieran el par.
tener
to have
que
that / than
por
for / by / through / in/during (part of the day)
hasta
until / as far as
el par
the pair (un par de: a couple of)
jurar
to swear
desvelarse
to stay awake all night
el fanatismo
fanaticism
Questions & Answers about Por el fanatismo, juraron desvelarse hasta que tuvieran el par.
Why is tuvieran in the imperfect subjunctive here?
The phrase hasta que triggers the subjunctive when an action hasn't happened yet. Since the main verb juraron is in the past, getting the pair was an anticipated future event from that past point in time. To match this past timeline, we backshift to the imperfect subjunctive tuvieran.
Could I use the preterite tuvieron instead of tuvieran?
If you used the indicative tuvieron, it would simply state a historical fact: they stayed awake and eventually got the pair. Using the subjunctive tuvieran puts us in their shoes at the moment they made the promise, emphasizing their anticipation of getting the pair, whether they actually ended up getting it or not.
Why does the sentence use Por instead of Para at the beginning?
Why is desvelarse reflexive here, and what exactly does it mean?
The verb desvelarse means to stay awake all night, keep oneself awake, or lose sleep. The reflexive form shows that they are experiencing this loss of sleep themselves. The pronoun se is attached directly to the infinitive because it is part of a verb phrase starting with the conjugated verb juraron.
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