Spanish language Q&A Forum

I don't understand why the imperfect "Teníamos que llevar" is used and not the preterite. After studying again when to use imperfect, it would seem that this sentence is " We used to have to wear" or "We were having to wear", whereas "We had to wear" would be "Tuvimos que llevar".  I can't see how the phrase "We had to wear protective hats" suggests it is ongoing and not completed. Obviously I'm wrong but I don't get it.

With: "Both rivers, the Amazon and the Orinoco, and their respective basins", why does Amazon get pluralized to "Amazonas"? I've seen that the masculine is "el Amazonas" and the feminine is "la Amazona". Why is that, please? I'm wondering about the use of "el río Amazonas" versus "la selva Amazona" and "la selva Amazonica".

How does "se nos" change the meaning of "Uno de esos ríos que enseguida viene a la mente" -v- "Uno de esos ríos que enseguida se nos viene a la mente".

And the  use of "ello" . . . does "ello" not mean "it" or "that"? Is the use of "ello" as "this" merely the uneducated English useage where "this" and "that" and their appropriate relationships to time and place become misused? : "An example of that is Caño Cristales, a natural sanctuary."

And why the use of the future tense "existirán en otros lugares del mundo"?

I would like to sk when do we use subjuntivo after cuando?

Are "antes de que" and "antes que" fully interchangeable? Does one sound better than the other or is used more in one or another situation? (It could help to say this explicitly.) 

Also, you run through the various past/present/future possibilities of "después de que" noting where the subjunctive or indicative is used. You don't give as many cases for "antes de que". Is it correct to infer that regardless of whether we are referring to a past, present or future event, "antes de que" must always be followed by the subjunctive. (Might help to say so explicitly if this is the case.) 

I still don't get email notifications when new answers are posted.