Aunque is a Spanish conjunction that can be used with different tenses.
Learn about using aunque with El Pretérito Imperfecto Subjuntivo in Spanish
Aunque can be followed by El Pretérito Imperfecto Subjuntivo. This happens in one of these two situations:
1. The information after aunque refers to a past action.
Using the subjunctive mood implies that the information has already been mentioned and is shared by the speaker and the listener. For example:
-La reunión de ayer con los clientes fue un éxito.
-Sí, pero aunque fuera un éxito, tuvimos que ceder demasiado por nuestra parte.
-The meeting with the clients yesterday was a success.
-Yes, but even though it was a success, we had to compromise too much on our side.
The second speaker uses El Pretérito Imperfecto Subjuntivo because they both know that it was successful, so this bit of information is shared by both people involved.
Here are some more examples:
Aunque hablaran del asunto todavía no han resuelto el problema.Despite having talked about the issue they haven't sorted the problem yet.
2. The information after aunque refers to a future hypothetical idea. For example:
-No entiendo por qué el cliente no quiere firmar el contrato.
-Yo creo que aunque le ofrecieras más ventajas, no firmaría tampoco. Es un cliente muy testarudo.
-I don't understand why the client doesn't want to sign the contract.
-I think, even if you offered him /were to offer more advantages, he would still not sign. He is a very stubborn client.
The second speaker is using El Pretérito Imperfecto Subjuntivo to express a hypothetical idea in the future.
Notice how in both examples above, the tense used in English is the preterite.
Here are some more examples:
Aunque with past tenses in the indicative in Spanish
However, aunque could also be followed by a past tense in the indicative, like El Pretérito Indefinido or El Pretérito Imperfecto in Spanish. In this case, the implication is that the information given after aunque is new information, mentioned for the first time by the speaker.
For example:
See also Aunque + the present indicative vs the present subjunctive in Spanish.
To revise the forms of El Pretérito Imperfecto Subjuntivo see Conjugate Spanish verbs in the Spanish imperfect subjunctive tense (El Imperfecto de Subjuntivo)
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