B2 · Can, must, want
Modal verbs in the past
Whether it came off is told by the tense.
With these verbs the choice between indefinido and imperfecto says not only when something was but whether it happened. Pude abrir la puerta means: I got it open. Podía abrir la puerta means: I would have been able to — whether I did is left open. English «could» covers both and settles nothing.
The same with querer: Quise hablar con él is «I tried»; quería hablar con él is «I wanted to». Negated the difference sharpens: No quise is «I refused», no quería only «I did not want to».
For «should have done» Spanish takes the conditional of deber plus the perfect infinitive: Deberías haberlo dicho. For «could have done» likewise: Podrías haberlo hecho.
Die Form
| it came off | Pude convencerlo. |
| only possible | Podía convencerlo, pero no lo hice. |
| tried | Quise llamar. |
| wanted | Quería llamar. |
| refused | No quiso venir. |
| should have | Deberías haber llamado. |
Die Regeln im Einzelnen
poder in the indefinido means it came off.
Al final pude entrar.In the end I got in.
poder in the imperfecto leaves it open.
Podía entrar cuando quisiera.I could go in whenever I liked.
no querer in the indefinido is «to refuse».
No quisieron ayudarnos.They refused to help us.
A reproach after the event takes deber in the conditional plus haber.
Deberíamos haber salido antes.We should have set off earlier.
Woran man es erkennt
- al final
- por fin
- no quiso
- debería haber
- podría haber
Beispielsätze
No pude dormir en toda la noche.I could not sleep all night.
Tuve que salir antes de tiempo.I had to leave early.
Podrías haberme avisado.You could have warned me.
Quería decírtelo, pero no encontré el momento.I wanted to tell you but never found the right moment.
Noch 6 Beispielsätze
No quiso darnos una explicación.He refused to give us an explanation.
Pudimos verlo desde lejos.We could see him from a distance.
Deberías haber preguntado antes.You should have asked first.
Tuvimos que cancelar el viaje.We had to cancel the trip.
Quería quedarme, pero era tarde.I wanted to stay, but it was late.
Podríamos haberlo evitado.We could have avoided it.
Die typisch deutsche Falle
Aufgepasst
For «I could have come» the conditional alone gets used: Podría venir. That is «I could come» — present. Looking back needs the perfect infinitive: Podría haber venido. English has the same pair, «could come» against «could have come», and it is worth transferring deliberately.
The indefinido says it happened; the imperfecto leaves it open.
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