Breakdown of El herrero nos dijo que limpiáramos la fragua.
que
that (relative pronoun, conjunction)
nos
to us / ourselves / us (direct object)
limpiar
to clean
decir
to say / to tell
el herrero
the blacksmith
la fragua
the forge
Questions & Answers about El herrero nos dijo que limpiáramos la fragua.
Why is limpiáramos in the imperfect subjunctive here?
When you report a command that was given in the past, the verb changes to the imperfect subjunctive. The blacksmith's original words were a direct command ("Clean the forge!"). Because he told us this in the past using nos dijo, that command turns into que limpiáramos.
Why can't we just say nos dijo limpiar to match the English "told us to clean"?
In English, we use the infinitive ("to clean") for reported commands. In Spanish, when one person tells a different person to do something, you generally cannot use the infinitive. You must use que followed by a conjugated verb. Since the blacksmith is influencing our actions, it triggers the subjunctive.
Why is there an accent mark on the "a" in limpiáramos?
In the nosotros form of the imperfect subjunctive, the spoken stress always falls on the vowel immediately before the -ramos (or -semos) ending. To keep the pronunciation correct, Spanish spelling rules require a written accent mark on that vowel.
Is it okay to use limpiásemos instead of limpiáramos in this sentence?
Yes! The imperfect subjunctive has two interchangeable sets of endings (-ra and -se). limpiáramos and limpiásemos mean exactly the same thing. You will hear both in Spain, though the -ra endings are generally more common.
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