Spanish language Q&A Forum

Why was the English translation of the Spanish question misleading?.. It should have been written as.... The lady waited for the doctor for 40 minutes...

actually to pocas (if plural- pacientes)

Sorry, Im a little confussed.

Before I attempt to answer this, isn't patience an adjective (modifying Victor, the noun).  Or is it referring to "few patients (pacientes)- not little patience" as a quantity?  

In otherwords, I believe paciencia is an adjective (quality - not quantity), and I think the poco would be a modifier and not be changed.  It would stay poco. Right?

But if the word was patients (pacientes- quantitiy of patients), then the poco would change to poca, because paciente is a feminine noun.

Does no debe stand for must not or don't have to ?

Regards, 

Alexander

¡Hola!

didn't need to (infinitive) & needn't have (past participle) are used to express the lack of necessity in the past, however

didn't need implies that the speaker didn't do something because he/she new that it was not necessary

needn't have means the speaker did something and then he/she knew that it had not been necessary

for example:

I didn't need to have an interview because I had worked there before

I needn't have cooked dinner. Just as it was ready, Chris and June phoned to say that they couldn't come to eat

(examples are taken from Advanced Grammar in Use by Martin Hewings)

How can I express it in Spanish?

Regards,

Alexander