Lesson Forty Six

El subjuntivo pasado

Este modo verbal no se menciona hasta los niveles más avanzados del idioma inglés. El subjuntivo en inglés se confunde a menudo con otras formas verbales debido a que carece de marca específica, como el presente o el pasado. Como mencionamos en la lección anterior, el subjuntivo se utiliza para expresar deseos o especular sobre situaciones pasadas, presentes o futuras.

 
LECCIÓN CUARENTA Y SEISLESSON FORTY SIX
VOCABULARIOVOCABULARY

Forma:
Tiene la misma forma, tanto afirmativa como negativa, que el Past Simple, con la excepción de que el verbo TO BE normalmente tiene la forma were para todas las personas.

Uso:

a. En el segundo condicional (second conditional), despues de if. Hace referencia a situaciones imaginarias en el presente o futuro:

If I were you, I would tell him the truth.
Si fuera tú, te diría la verdad.

If the sun stopped shining, life on Earth would disappear.
Si el sol dejara de brillar, la vida en la tierra desaparecería.

b. Para expresar deseos sobre situaciones presentes con el verbo wish:

I wish there were peace everywhere in the world.
Desearía que hubiera paz en todas partes del mundo.

I wish I had more free time.
Desearía tener más tiempo libre.

Como vimos en estos dos primeros usos del subjuntivo pasado, se puede emplear “were” después de “if” y “wish”.

c. Después de las estructuras would rather o would sooner cuando deseamos que otra persona haga una acción en el presente:

I would rather you stayed home and studied tonight.
Preferiría que te quedaras en casa y estudiaras esta noche.

I would rather you didn’t bring your friends over for lunch this weekend.
Preferiría que no trajeras a tus amigos a almorzar este fin de semana.

d. Después de la estructura It’s (high / about) time…, en un registro muy formal:

It’s time we went home.
Es tiempo de volver a casa.

En un registro informal preferiríamos It’s time to go. (Es tiempo de irse)

It's about time Willy retired.
Ya era hora que Willy se jubilara.

It's high time that you and I had a chat about it.
Ya es hora de que tú y yo tengamos una conversación al respecto.

e. Después de as though o as if, para expresar la improbabilidad o la irrealidad de una situación simultánea con la acción de la frase principal:

He acts as if he owned the place. (But he doesn’t own it)
Él actúa como si fuera el dueño del lugar. (Pero no lo es)

He looked as though he knew where they were. (But he didn’t know)
Parecía como si supiera donde estaban. (Pero él no sabía)

Ejercicios:

a) Completar las siguientes oraciones con la forma de subjuntivo pasado.
1. I wish she ________________ (have) a better quality of life.
2. It´s high time he ____________ (spend) more time at his office.
3. If they ______________ (go) to the cinema, they would have seen a nice movie.
4. I wish he _________________ (know) Europe when he was a teenager.
5. I´d rather you ______________ (take) an umbrella before going out.
6. It´s about time Peter ______________ (leave) his parent´s house.
7. I would rather you ________________ (not invite) your friends for dinner tonight.
8. I wish we __________________ (live) in a bigger house.
9. If he _________________ (get up) earlier, he wouldn´t miss the train.
10. It´s high time I ________________ (have) an appointment with her.

Resultados:

1. had
2. spent
3. had gone
4. had known
5. took
6. left
7. didn´t invite
8. lived
9. got up
10. had


b) Elegir entre las opciones dadas.
1. People who work wish they ________________more time with their children.
spent
had spent

2. If I _______________you, I would wait until tomorrow to decide.
had been
were

3. Some politicians speak about immigrants as if they _______________ criminals.
are
were

4. It's high time we ____________________ down to discuss the matter.
should sit
sat

5. Older people wish young people___________________more politely.
would behave
had behaved

6. If he ___________________there, she would have drowned.
hadn't been
wasn't

7. I wish I____________________how to play the cello when I was young.
learnt
had learnt

8. I'd rather you ____________________ your room before dinner.
would tidy
tidied

9. It's high time that we __________________ the driving exam.
should do
did

10. I wish she ______________________ a pill a day.
took
take

Resultados:
1. spent
2. were
3. were
4. sat
5. would behave
6. hadn´t been
7. had learnt
8. tidied
9. did
10. took


Lessons of the Spanish Course

The course has 59 lessons that go progressively to learn Spanish correctly and quickly.