Antes de que in the past
You know antes de que + present subjunctive for what is still to come: Me voy antes de que llueva. Tell the same thing about the past and the subjunctive moves into the past too.
| He left before you arrived. | Se fue antes de que llegaras. |
Your arrival came after he left, so llegaras, never llegaste.
| We left the house before it started to rain. | Salimos de casa antes de que empezara a llover. |
Same pattern with empezar a: the rain had not started yet.
Después de que and hasta que
After a past verb, después de que often takes the imperfect subjunctive, above all in writing and on the news; the indicative is also correct for something that really happened (después de que te fuiste).
| She called me after you left. | Me llamó después de que te fueras. |
You had already gone when she called, but the subjunctive is still very common here.
Hasta que goes by meaning:
| the end really came: indicative | the end was still ahead: subjunctive |
|---|---|
| Me quedé en el bar hasta que cerraron. | Nos pidió que nos quedáramos hasta que llegara la policía. |
| She asked us to stay until the police arrived. | Nos pidió que nos quedáramos hasta que llegara la policía. |
At the moment she asked, the police had not come yet.
Purpose in the past: para que
Para que always takes the subjunctive. After a past verb it is usually the imperfect subjunctive.
| I told you so that you would know. | Te lo dije para que lo supieras. |
Dije is past, so supieras.
| My parents worked hard so that I could study. | Mis padres trabajaron mucho para que yo pudiera estudiar. |
Two subjects, two verbs: they worked so that I could study. With one subject, para + infinitive is enough: Trabajaron mucho para pagar el piso.
Common mistakes
- Se fue antes de que llegaste → antes de que llegaras.
- para que yo podía estudiar → para que yo pudiera estudiar.
