Advanced Grammar Quiz, Capítulo 1, pg 10

Aprendamos del Gran Maestro, capítulo 1, pg 10 (Advanced Grammar Quiz)

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Question 1

Why do you think the heading '¿Por qué fue Jesus un Gran Maestro?' uses 'fue' to mean 'was'?

A	Because being a 'great teacher' is a characteristic. Hint: Well, although that can be true, in this case it's not being presented as a characteristic but rather just as a fact, more as an event or something that happened in a set time period, rather than as a characteristic.
B	Because it's referring to the entire completed time period during which Jesus was a great teacher. It is not setting the background but just presenting a fact, viewing it more as an event than a characteristic. Hint: ¡Exacto!
C	Because it's setting the background. Hint: No, in that case 'era' would be used because the imperfect is the right tense to set the background. We know that it wasn't setting the background because as you can see no other information follows in the sentence.

Question 2

How would you translate the word 'hace' at the beginning of the first paragraph?

A	it makes Hint: Well the literal translation could be 'it makes' but a better or more natural translation would be 'ago' and you often find this construction in stories, hace + a time period = ..... ago.
B	he does Hint: Although one translation of 'hace' could be 'he makes' that wouldn't make sense in this sentence, instead it should be translated as 'ago'. You often find this constructions in stories, hace + a time period = ..... ago.
C	ago Hint: Sí, bien hecho. Although literally it can mean 'it makes' the best translation would be 'ago'.

Question 3

How do you say '(he) was born'?

A	fue nacido Hint: No, I"m afraid not, 'nacer' is an intransitive verb, it doesn't have a passive form and includes the meaning of 'to be' (born) in itself.
B	estaba nacido Hint: No, this would be more like '(he) was being born'. Nació would be a good translation for '(he) was born'.
C	nació Hint: Sí, bien hecho. Although learners might look for a way to use at least two words to translate 'he was born', nació from 'nacer' in the preterite tense is the best choice because being born is a one off event in the past.

Question 4

Which verb phrase in the first paragraph can be translated as 'to become'?

A	convertirse en Hint: That's right, and 'convertirse en' is often used to reflect hard effort and an impressive result.
B	hacerse Hint: That is one way to express 'becoming' something but it often refers to a change in identity or afiliation. Instead, 'convertirse en' is used in the first paragraph to reflect hard effort and an impressive result.
C	volverse Hint: That is one way to express 'becoming' something but if usually refers to involuntary change, instead 'convertirse en' is used in the first paragraph to reflect hard effort and an impressive result.

Question 5

How would you translate 'there weren't any'? Eg. There weren't any trains.

A	no fueron Hint: No, 'no fueron' could mean 'they weren't' and would refer to a subject but when to talk about an object or objects we would use the special form of haber, 'no había' which could mean either 'there wasn't' (any) or 'there weren't' (any).
B	no había Hint: ¡Exacto! The verb 'haber' has some special uses such as 'hay' in the present tense to mean 'there is' or 'there are' and 'había' in the past imperfect tense to mean that 'there was' or 'there were' or as in this case, in it's negative form (no había) to mean 'there wasn't' (any) or 'there weren't' (any).
C	no habían Hint: Nearly, just remember that this use of 'haber' is special and just like 'hay' in the present tense, 'había' has a singular and plural meaning - 'there was' or 'there were' or as in this case, in it's negative form (no había) 'there wasn't' (any) or 'there weren't' (any).

Question 6

In the first line of the second paragraph we find 'to become' expressed using 'llegar a ser'. Do you know why this form of 'to become' was used in the sentence, 'él llego a ser el hombre más sabio que haya vivido en la tierra'?

A	Because it reflects a change in emotion. Hint: No, if that were the case 'ponerse' would probably have been used.
B	Because it refers to a change that took place over a long period of time and it likely took effort. Hint: Sí, ¡perfecto!
C	Because it was an involuntary change. Hint: No, if that were the case 'volverse' would probably have been used.

Question 7

In the sentence, 'explicaba las cosas difíciles de modo que fuera fácil entenderlas' - why do you think that 'fuera', a subjunctive form of 'ser' is used?

A	I have no idea! Hint: Well that's understandable as this is a very tricky subject. Basically 'de modo que' can be followed with the indicative if it is followed with an actual result or outcome or if it is used like 'para que' to refer to the purpose of the action rather than a specific result the subjunctive is used.
B	Because it is being used like 'para que' referring to the purpose of the action rather than a specific result. Hint: Bien hecho, this is not an easy example but you are exactly right.
C	Because 'de modo que' is always followed by the subjunctive mood. Hint: No, not quite, 'de modo que' can be followed with the indicative if it is followed with an actual result or outcome. But because the author was using it here in a similar way to 'para que' to refer to the purpose of the action rather than a specific result the subjunctive was used.

Question 8

The third paragraph starts with the sentence, 'Jesus enseñaba a las personas en todo lugar', why do you think 'enseñaba was used instead of 'enseñó'?

A	Because it was a one off completed action in the past. Hint: No, here we're talking about a recurring action, that's why the imperfect tense was used. The preterite tense 'enseñó' would be used if we were referring to a completed action that had just happened once.
B	Because enseñó means 'he will teach'. Hint: No, that would be 'enseñará'. Enseñaba was used because the imperfect tense is good for speaking of habitual or recurring actions.
C	Because the imperfect tense is good for speaking of habitual or recurring actions. Hint: ¡Diste en el clavo! You've hit the nail on the head!

Question 9

Still with that sentence, 'Jesus enseñaba a las personas' - you have probably learnt about the personal 'a' (for the want of a better name) that goes before the direct object of a sentence if it's a known person. So why do you think it is here before 'las personas'- surely not all those people are 'known' - it was a crowd after all.

A	Because 'personas' is always preceded by the personal 'a'. Hint: Although 'personas' is commonly preceded by the personal 'a', (especially when it appears with the direct article 'las'), it would be possible to form a sentence using 'personas' without the personal 'a' just like you can with 'gente'. eg. Un asesino mata gente. A murderer kills people.
B	Because 'known' can just mean 'it's known for sure that they exist or existed' not so much that they were neccesarily known by any kind of personal relationship. Hint: ¡Perfecto! Eso es el punto. Those people were specific individuals taught by Jesus, hence the personal 'a'.
C	Because they were all personal friends of Jesus. Hint: Nice idea but probably not likely.

Question 10

Which word in the fourth paragraph is in the imperfect tense but in the subjunctive mood and why?

A	Palabras - but I'm not sure why. Hint: No, palabras is a noun that means 'words' it's not a verb.
B	Aprendemos - because our learning is just a possibility. Hint: No, aprendemos is the present tense in the indicative mood as our learning is presented as a fact not a possibility.
C	Hablara - because it follows 'es como si'. Hint: Excelente.

Question 11

Unlike the title, the last paragraph refers to Jesus as being a great teacher by saying that 'era' un gran maestro. Why is 'era' used here instead of 'fue' as it is in the title?

A	Because it was an event. Hint: No, here being a great teacher is presented in the form of a description or characteristic, that's why the imperfect tense is used.
B	Because instead of being viewed as an event here, his being a great teacher is presented as a description or characteristic of Jesus and descriptions in the past are given by using the imperfect tense. Hint: Tienes toda la razon. Exactly right.
C	Because it's from the verb 'ir' and means 'he was going to be'. Hint: No, it is still from the verb 'ser' but this time the imperfect tense 'era' is used to give a description of Jesus.