Breakdown of Nada más comprobar el pulso, la médica pidió la inyección.
la médica
the doctor
pedir
to ask for; to order (food or drink)
comprobar
to check
nada más
as soon as / right after
Questions & Answers about Nada más comprobar el pulso, la médica pidió la inyección.
Why is the infinitive comprobar used here instead of a past tense verb like comprobó?
The phrase nada más followed by a simple infinitive is a set structure used to express temporal immediacy, meaning 'as soon as' or 'right after'. Even though the overall action happened in the past, nada más always connects directly to an infinitive, never a conjugated verb.
Could I say en cuanto instead of nada más to express the same idea?
How do we know who checked the pulse if comprobar isn't conjugated?
When using an infinitive phrase like this, the person performing the action is assumed to be the subject of the main clause, which is la médica here. If someone else had checked the pulse, you would state that subject right after the infinitive, for example: nada más comprobar el enfermero el pulso.