Why is the answer “tenían” and not “tenía”?
En la tienda no ________ ni pan ni dulces. In the shop, they didn't have bread or cakes.(HINT: Conjugate "tener" in El Pretérito Imperfecto.)
Why is the answer “tenían” and not “tenía”?
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Alejandro S.Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Why is the answer “tenían” and not “tenía”?
This question relates to:Spanish lesson "Conjugate tener in the imperfect tense in Spanish (El Pretérito Imperfecto)"
Asked 3 years ago
InmaNative Spanish expert teacher in Kwiziq
Hola Alejandro
That sentence is using tenían because the subject is a "neutral they", it is a they referring to the people who serve in the shop. It's very common to use the plural in this cases. Other examples could be:
En Amazon me han dicho que no pueden enviarme el paquete urgente.
In Amazon they've told me they cannot send the parcel urgently.
En esta pastelería venden unos pasteles muy ricos.
In this bakery they sell very tasty cakes.
I hope this clarified it.
Inma
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