Breakdown of Aunque me lo pidiera de rodillas, no lo haría.
no
no / not
hacer
to do, to make
me
to me / myself (reflexive) / me (direct object)
lo
it / him (m)
pedir
to ask for; to order (food or drink)
aunque
although, even though
la rodilla
the knee
Questions & Answers about Aunque me lo pidiera de rodillas, no lo haría.
Why is the imperfect subjunctive pidiera used here after aunque instead of the indicative pide?
When aunque is followed by the subjunctive, it means even if and introduces a hypothetical or unlikely situation. If it were followed by the indicative (aunque me lo pide), it would mean even though he is asking me, stating a known fact.
Could I use pidiese instead of pidiera in this sentence?
Yes, pidiese and pidiera are completely interchangeable here. Both are valid forms of the imperfect subjunctive. In Spain, you will hear both forms, though the -ra ending is generally more common in everyday speech.
Why do we use the preposition de in de rodillas instead of en to mean on his knees?
In Spanish, the preposition de is often used in fixed expressions to describe physical postures or how an action is performed. Translating literally to en rodillas is a very common mistake for English speakers; the correct phrase is always de rodillas.
Why does the verb pedir change to pidiera with an i instead of an e?
Pedir has an e-to-i stem change in the third person of the preterite, making it pidió. The imperfect subjunctive is always built directly from that third-person preterite stem, which is why it becomes pidiera rather than pediera.
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