Breakdown of La trapecista no quería que copiásemos el salto.
no
no / not
querer
to want; to love (a person)
que
that (relative pronoun, conjunction)
copiar
to copy
el salto
the jump
la trapecista
the trapeze artist
Questions & Answers about La trapecista no quería que copiásemos el salto.
Why is copiásemos in the past subjunctive here?
The main verb quería expresses a desire or influence over someone else's actions. Because this desire is in the past (quería is the imperfect tense), the second verb must be in the past subjunctive (copiásemos) rather than the present subjunctive.
Why is there an accent mark on the letter a in copiásemos?
In the past subjunctive, the nosotros (we) form always requires a written accent on the vowel right before the ending. This keeps the spoken stress on the correct syllable (co-piá-se-mos). Without it, the rules of Spanish pronunciation would shift the stress to the wrong place.
Could I say copiáramos instead of copiásemos?
Absolutely. The past subjunctive has two sets of endings: -ara/-iera and -ase/-iese. They mean exactly the same thing and are completely interchangeable. Both copiáramos and copiásemos are correct, though Spain tends to use the -ase forms slightly more often than Latin America does.
Is trapecista always a feminine word because it ends in -a?
Not always! Nouns ending in -ista (like trapecista, artista, or dentista) are invariable, meaning their ending does not change based on gender. We know this specific trapeze artist is female because of the feminine article La. If it were a male artist, it would be El trapecista.
Learn La trapecista no quería que copiásemos el salto and more in Spanish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free