Question 1

Why is comiera in the imperfect (past) subjunctive if the sentence is talking about a present situation?

Accepted Answer

The phrase ¡ni que! is used for indignant rejection, meaning "As if!" or "It's not like...". It always forces the following verb into the imperfect subjunctive (like comiera) or the past perfect subjunctive. This shows that the idea is absurd or purely hypothetical, even when you are complaining about something happening right now.

Question 2

Why does traérmelo have an accent mark?

Accepted Answer

The base verb is the infinitive traer (to bring). When we attach the indirect object pronoun me (to me) and the direct object pronoun lo (it) to the end of it, the word gets longer. We must add a written accent over the "e" to keep the spoken stress exactly where it naturally falls in traer.

Question 3

The first and third person forms of comiera are identical. How do we know it means "I ate" and not "he/she ate" here?

Accepted Answer

Context is key! Because the first sentence uses me in traérmelo (bring it to me), it's clear the speaker is talking about their own food. If the situation were ambiguous, you could add the pronoun and say ¡Ni que yo comiera...!.

Question 4

Is there a more natural way to translate ¡Ni que comiera...! than "As if I ate..."?

Accepted Answer

Yes! While "As if I ate..." is a good direct translation, native English speakers often express this exact indignant tone by saying "It's not like I eat...". Both capture the emotion of ¡ni que! perfectly.

El sirviente no debe traérmelo. ¡Ni que comiera algo asqueroso!

Breakdown of El sirviente no debe traérmelo. ¡Ni que comiera algo asqueroso!

Questions & Answers about El sirviente no debe traérmelo. ¡Ni que comiera algo asqueroso!

Learn El sirviente no debe traérmelo. ¡Ni que comiera algo asqueroso and more in Spanish