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Muito confuso, no meu conhecimento (I didn't think that you would make a mistake) = "Eu não pensei que você erraria"
Paulo, Duolingo often translates the imperfect subjunctive with "would" and the imperfect indicative with "used to". Is this imperfect subjunctive = "would" rather than "used to" equivalence usual?
as you said, it depends on the context. At first, one would use "used to" but it is also suitable the use of "would", which is primarily used as "futuro do pretérito" (I would call you every day as a child = eu ligava para você todos os dias quando eu era criança. now, the usage is different).
I thought it might be something special with the subjunctive. I'm pretty sure Duolingo would translate that sentence as "I used to call you every day when I was a child" and reject the "I would" version. That's why it's so good to have your advice - thanks again!
yes, unfortunatelly it still jas some shortcomings which drives us crazy =S
Eu não pensei que você errase: a person is your idol, but then he tells you some of his mistakes when writing a song, singing, etc. You can use this sentence. (General mistakes).
Eu não pensei que você erraria: it is specific and refers to a singular mistake (eu não pensei que você erraria este exercício na prova).
2015
How about "I did not think that you made mistakes"? I got it wrong, but could it be a valid answer?
I believe so. There really isn't a lot of difference between "I didn't think that you made mistakes" and "I didn't think you would make mistakes".
In both sentences, we are talking about a supposition - there is no indication that a mistake was even made.
I will tell you, it is hard to understand and translate these subjunctives both in Portuguese and Spanish , even if you are a native, but emeyr has caught the spirit. We are studying past subjunctive in this lesson, but the meaning is not like that every time. Although it should be.
I disagree a little because you would only say to someone "I didn't think you would make a mistake' after they have just made a mistake and therefore proving your theory wrong. Or do you mean that the unrealized event is the belief of making no errors? Sorry I'm really struggling with the subjunctive!
The reference is to the general notion of not making mistakes, not a specific reference to having made a mistake.
"I did not think you would make a mistake." and "I did not think you made a mistake." Have two very different meanings..
This sentence, in other words, mean:
- I didn't think you were a person that made mistakes
- I though you were the kind of person who would never make a mistake
So, the version with "a mistake" doesn't sound very good in the first one (the one that follows the same structure as the translation), while the version with "mistakes" sounds perfect.
In the first sentence where "errasse" occurred, the system marked my "erred" as wrong and said I should write "failed". The second time "errasse" came up, in an identical construction, I dutifully wrote "failed", which the system marked as wrong and said instead that I should have written "erred".
I understand the meaning or errar, but i struggle to translate it. "To make a mistake" seems very cumbersome in many contexts. "Fail" is a similar idea but not usually accepted. Any suggestions?
In many cases a good fit for the meaning is "err": http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/err
Unfortunately, except in some set expressions, "err" sounds quite formal, some would say archaic, and has mostly fallen out of use. It survives as a useful space saving device in newspaper headlines, though, as a search for "erred" in Google News will demonstrate.
I think the translation depends on the context. "Fail" can also be "falhar", "não passar", etc.
I thought the answer was "I did not think that you have made mistakes." because it's in past and "I did not think you made mistakes," implies present in the habitual sense.
