eligiera

Eligiera is the imperfect subjunctive form of the Spanish verb elegir, meaning to choose or to elect. It is used in subordinate clauses expressing doubt, possibility, emotion, necessity, or hypothetical situations, and in si-clauses with the imperfect subjunctive.

Formation and variants: The imperfect subjunctive is formed from the third-person plural preterite of the verb (ellos eligieron) by removing -ron and adding endings: -ra, -ras, -ra, -ramos, -rais, -ran. For example, yo eligiera, tú eligieras, él eligiera, nosotros eligieramos or eligíéramos, vosotros eligierais, ellos eligieran or eligiesen. A second, parallel form ending with -se is also used in many dialects: eligiera, eligierase, etc. The form eligiese is a common variant in some regions.

Usage notes: Eligiera appears in contexts such as “Si yo eligiera entre estas opciones, tomaría una decisión” (If I were to choose among these options, I would make a decision). It is also used after verbs of desire, doubt or emotion: “Quisiera que eligieras a un representante” (I would like you to choose a representative). The imperfect subjunctive contrasts with the conditional formation “elegiría,” which expresses a hypothetical in the main clause without requiring a subjunctive in the dependent clause.

See also: The related verb form eliges, eliges, eliges, and other tenses of elegir; discussion of imperfect subjunctive forms across regular and irregular -er/-ir verbs in Spanish.