Breakdown of Aunque tuviera dinero, no me compraría ese coche.
el coche
the car
no
no / not
comprar
to buy
tener
to have
el dinero
the money
me
to me / myself (reflexive) / me (direct object)
ese
that (m.sg., also esa, esos, esas, eso)
aunque
although, even though
Questions & Answers about Aunque tuviera dinero, no me compraría ese coche.
Why is tuviera in the subjunctive mood here instead of the indicative?
After aunque, using the subjunctive changes the meaning from a factual statement to a hypothetical one. If you used the indicative here (Aunque tenía dinero), it would mean a factual 'Although I had money'. By using the subjunctive, it translates to 'Even if I had money', showing that the speaker does not actually have the money right now.
Could I use the present subjunctive (tenga) instead of the imperfect subjunctive (tuviera)?
No, because the second half of the sentence uses the conditional tense (compraría). When talking about a hypothetical scenario that contradicts current reality, you must pair the imperfect subjunctive (tuviera) with the conditional. Using the present subjunctive (tenga) would clash with the conditional mood.
Why is there a me before compraría? Isn't comprar just 'to buy'?
I sometimes see tuviese instead of tuviera. Would that work in this sentence?
Yes, aunque tuviese dinero is perfectly correct and means exactly the same thing. The imperfect subjunctive has two interchangeable sets of endings: -ra and -se. In spoken Spanish in Spain, the -ra form used in this sentence is much more common.
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