“Quería que vinieras”: the tense drags the mood with it
CEFR B2 · part 2
edumaterial's parts within the level. The European framework does not subdivide them.
“Sin embargo”, “por tanto”, “en cambio”The connectors that hold an argument together, and what each one promises: “sin…“Serán las tres”: a future that is not about the futureUsing the future for a guess about now (“serán las tres”, “estará en casa”) and the…“Fue construido” or “estaba construido”Telling the action apart from the state it leaves behind: “la puerta fue cerrada a las…“Un momentito”: the diminutive is not about sizeWhat “-ito” really adds: affection (“abuelita”), politeness (“un momentito”), softening…“Acabar de”, “acabar con”, “acabar por”Verbs whose meaning changes entirely with the preposition: “acabar de/con/por”, “dar…“Me alegro de que vengas”: feelings take the subjunctiveThe subjunctive after anything that reacts to a fact instead of reporting it: “me alegro…The rule, in three lines
The main verb decides the shape of the subjunctive after it: present with present (quiero que vengas) and past or conditional with the imperfect subjunctive (quería que vinieras, me gustaría que vinieras).
The usual slip. Keeping the present subjunctive after a past verb: quería que vengas.
Why it catches you out. English backshifts too —“I wanted you to come”— but it does it with an infinitive, so there is no second verb to match. Here the main verb reaches forward and changes the other one, and if it slips the sentence sounds broken in a way you cannot yet hear.