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Spanish (Spain)

### Calling out outrageous demands

When people expect the impossible, you might need to point out their ridiculous behavior. Use verbs like **pretender** (to expect or claim) alongside nouns like **el atrevimiento** (the audacity) or **el descaro** (the nerve).

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### Ironic rejections with "¡Ni que...!"

To playfully or indignantly reject an absurd assumption, use the exclamation **¡ni que...!** (as if...!).

This expression always triggers the past subjunctive because it describes a scenario completely contrary to reality. Use the *imperfect subjunctive* (like **fuera**) to reject a current assumption.

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### Reacting to assumptions about the past

To reject assumptions about something that supposedly happened in the past, use **¡ni que...!** with the *pluperfect subjunctive* (the imperfect subjunctive of **haber** + a past participle).

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Ironic rejections (¡ni que...!)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

contraction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Singular subjects and 'ser' (yo soy, esto es)

Plural nouns and definite articles (los, las)

Plural pronouns and 'ser' (somos, sois, son)

Adjective agreement (-o, -a, -os, -as)

Indefinite articles (un, una, unos, unas)

Simple negation (no)

Yes/no questions

Regular '-ar' verbs (-o, -as, -a...)

Regular '-er' verbs (-o, -es, -e...)

Regular '-ir' verbs (-o, -es, -e...)

Locative adverbs (aquí, allí)

Question words (quién, cómo)

The verb estar (estoy, estás)

The preposition en (en)

Ser vs. estar

The verb tener (tengo, tienes)

Possessive determiners (mi, tu, su)

Origin and possession (de, del)

The verb ir (voy, vas)

Destination (a, al)

The personal 'a' (a)

Stem-changing verbs: e to ie

Stem-changing verbs: o to ue

Irregular first-person verbs

Reflexive verbs (me, te, se)

Numbers 1 to 10 (uno, dos, tres)

Numbers 11 to 20 (once, doce, trece)

Counting by tens to 100 (treinta, cuarenta, cien)

Compound numbers up to 99 (veintiuno, treinta y uno)

Days of the week (el lunes, el martes)

The family and the personal 'a' (a mi tío, a mi prima)

Months of the year

Telling time (es la, son las)

Verbs of liking (me gusta)

Plural agreement with verbs of liking (gustan)

Degree modifiers (muy, mucho)

Formal address (usted, ustedes)

Direct object pronouns (lo, la, los, las)

The near future (ir a)

Obligation (tener que)

Present continuous (-ando, -iendo)

Affirmative commands (tú, vosotros)

Basic Food and Drink

The Human Body: Head and Arms

The Human Body: Legs and Health

Wardrobe Essentials

Fresh Produce

Meals and Proteins

Public Transport

Hello and goodbye (hola, ¿qué tal?)

Thank you, sorry, OK (gracias, vale)

There is, there are (hay)

My building (la escalera, el ascensor)

Describing people (moreno, rubio, tímido)

Land and sea (el mar, el río, el norte)

Sightseeing (la plaza, la catedral)

Asking the way (cerca, a la derecha, todo recto)

In class (¿puedes repetir?)

Verb + infinitive (quiero comer, sé leer)

What's your name? (me llamo, encantado)

Phone, computer and email

Hundreds and thousands (doscientos, mil)

What do you do? (¿a qué te dedicas?)

Personal details (la edad, la fecha de nacimiento)

Me neither (también, tampoco, ni)

How much is it? (el precio, la vuelta)

What's the weather like? (hace sol, nieva)

Free time (el concierto, el tenis)

At the bar (¿qué vas a tomar?)

The Natural World

Demonstratives (este, ese, aquel)

Prepositions of place (encima de, debajo de)

Prepositional pronouns (para mí, contigo)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (primero to décimo)

Adverbs of frequency (a veces, nunca)

Exclamations (¡qué...!)

Indefinite pronouns (algo, alguien)

Indefinite determiners (algún, ningún)

Indirect object pronouns (le, les)

Double object pronouns (me lo, te la)

Double object pronouns (se lo, se la)

Verbs of preference (encantar, interesar)

Impersonal obligation (hay que)

Starting and finishing actions (empezar a, terminar de)

Adjective comparatives (más que, menos que)

Comparatives of equality (tan como)

Noun comparatives (tanto como)

Question	Answer
to expect (to aim for something unreasonable); to intend, to aim to	pretender
as if (exclamatory, + past subjunctive)	ni que
the chauffeur	el chófer
Do you expect me to take you to the center? As if I were your chauffeur!	¿Pretendes que te lleve al centro? ¡Ni que fuera tu chófer!
the fortune teller	el adivino
He expects me to know the answer. As if I were a fortune teller!	Pretende que yo sepa la respuesta. ¡Ni que fuera adivino!
the nerve	el descaro
the outrage	la barbaridad
What a nerve! As if it were an outrage to ask for a favor.	¡Qué descaro! ¡Ni que fuera una barbaridad pedir un favor!
indignant	indignado
the nonsense (absurdity)	el disparate
She is indignant about that nonsense. As if I had insulted her!	Ella está indignada por ese disparate. ¡Ni que la hubiera insultado!
to please	complacer
No one has to please you. As if you were the king!	Nadie tiene que complacerte. ¡Ni que fueras el rey!
to settle	conformarse
the audacity	el atrevimiento
You have to settle. As if asking for more were an audacity!	Hay que conformarse. ¡Ni que pedir más fuera un atrevimiento!
The chauffeur left indignant. As if we had paid him badly!	El chófer se fue indignado. ¡Ni que le hubiéramos pagado mal!
It is an enormous nonsense. As if I had said an outrage!	Es un disparate enorme. ¡Ni que hubiera dicho una barbaridad!
He has the nerve to ask me for money. As if I were a millionaire!	Tiene el descaro de pedirme dinero. ¡Ni que fuera millonario!
Do you expect her to settle? As if winning were an audacity!	¿Pretendes que ella se conforme? ¡Ni que ganar fuera un atrevimiento!
It is impossible to please them. As if I were a fortune teller!	Es imposible complacerlas. ¡Ni que yo fuera adivina!
Does he expect us to keep quiet? What an audacity!	¿Pretende que nos callemos? ¡Qué atrevimiento!
I intend to finish the novel this year.	Pretendo terminar la novela este año.
Do you intend to swim to the island? As if you were a fish!	¿Pretendes nadar hasta la isla? ¡Ni que fueras un pez!

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