Breakdown of ¿Pretendes que te lleve al centro? ¡Ni que fuera tu chófer!
ser
to be
tu
your (singular)
a
to
el centro
the center
que
that (relative pronoun, conjunction)
te
to you / yourself (reflexive) / you (direct object)
llevar
to carry; to take (someone or something somewhere)
pretender
to expect (to aim for something unreasonable); to intend, to aim to
ni que
as if (exclamatory, + past subjunctive)
el chófer
the chauffeur
Questions & Answers about ¿Pretendes que te lleve al centro? ¡Ni que fuera tu chófer!
Why do we use the imperfect subjunctive (fuera) after ¡Ni que here?
The phrase ¡Ni que is used to express ironic rejection or indignation, similar to saying "As if..." in English. Because it sets up a hypothetical, contrary-to-fact scenario (the speaker is not actually a chauffeur), it must always be followed by the imperfect subjunctive or the pluperfect subjunctive, never the indicative or the present subjunctive.
Does pretendes mean "pretend" here?
No, pretender is a classic false friend! It doesn't mean "to fake" (which would be fingir). Instead, it means to expect, intend, or aim for something. In this sentence, ¿Pretendes que...? translates to "Do you expect me to...?"
Why is llevar conjugated in the present subjunctive (lleve)?
I've sometimes seen the word for chauffeur written without an accent mark. Why does chófer have one here?
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