"A new Reference Grammar ..." by Butt and Benjamin discusses Spanish verbs which can be followed by an infinitive instead of the subjunctive - even when the subjects are different in the two halves of the sentence, e.g. persuadir, ayudar, enseñar, [+ preposition 'a']. The authors suggest that "pedir" may be starting to move in that direction (mainly in Latin America, where rules are perhaps more relaxed than in Spain, particularly in conversations?) In addition, the infinitive construction with 'pedir' seems to be creeping into casual journalistic style, especially in headlines.

Asked 6 years ago

Like3Answer1

Melissa M.A2KwizIQ community member

When do you use (de) or que)

Hi,

I don't understand why some of these phrases have "de" or "que" in parentheses - what does this mean?

antes (de) que (before), con tal (de) que (provided that), mientras (que)

Are there certain times when you would use the words in parentheses or not use them? I'm confused as to why this isn't explained.

Thank you!

Asked 6 years ago

Like1Answer1

Thea R.C1KwizIQ Q&A regular contributor

Why is 'lo' here?

In the first sample sentence above, what is the function of 'lo'? There are 4 such examples on this page.

Asked 6 years ago

Like0Answer1

Rosemary H.A2KwizIQ community member

De versus Cuando era/eras/eran

"de joven" and "cuando eran jóvenes" are both used for "when you were young". When should "de" be used and when should "cuando era/eran/eras" be used? Thanks.

Asked 3 years ago

Like0Answer1

Edward R.C1KwizIQ community member

comma o no?

Dear Kwizteam,

I noticed that this construction places a comma before 'que' but not before 'porque'. In English, if the subordinate clause follows the independent clause, there is no comma. In Spanish, does this depend on the type of subordinate conjunction used?

Regards.

Asked 5 years ago

Like0Answer1

Ashlyn T.A1KwizIQ Q&A regular contributor

for non quantity comparison

may i summarise and say that igual de... que is used for non quantity or another way, quality comparisons only? for example, we can use tanto... como for 'tiene tanto dinero como yo', but we cant use it with igual de. non quantity or quality comparisons which are adjectives, adverbs.

Asked 4 years ago

Like0Answer1