Breakdown of ¿Limpiaste la maceta después de que él trasplantara el árbol?
él
he
de
from / of
el árbol
the tree
que
that / than
limpiar
to clean
la
the (feminine)
la maceta
flowerpot
después
after / afterwards
trasplantar
to transplant
Questions & Answers about ¿Limpiaste la maceta después de que él trasplantara el árbol?
Why is trasplantara in the imperfect subjunctive here instead of the preterite, if the transplanting already happened?
This is a common regional variation. While traditional grammar rules often say to use the indicative (like the preterite trasplantó) for completed facts, in Latin America it is very common to use the imperfect subjunctive (like trasplantara) after después de que, even for actions that are already finished.
Could I drop the que and just use the infinitive trasplantar?
Not in this sentence, because there is a change in subject. You (tú) cleaned the pot, but he (él) transplanted the tree. When the subjects are different, you must use después de que followed by a conjugated verb. If you had done both actions yourself, you would drop the que and use the infinitive: después de trasplantar.
Is it possible to use trasplantase instead of trasplantara?
Yes, trasplantase is also the imperfect subjunctive and means the exact same thing. However, the -ra ending used here (trasplantara) is much more frequently used in everyday Latin American Spanish than the -se ending.
Why use la maceta here instead of la olla for 'the pot'?
In Spanish, words for 'pot' are specific to their purpose. La maceta is specifically a flower pot or planter for gardening. La olla is a cooking pot used in the kitchen for food.
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