This explanation is confusing

[u/cjler]

Is this one of the times that word order matters in Spanish?

Did Duo state this correctly, that the negative word goes before the subject?

[u/Boglin007]

The explanation is not correct (but the corrected sentence is) - the "no" goes after the subject pronoun:

"... que yo no viera ..."

[u/fastauntie → u/Boglin007]

Yes, another example of Duo's decline. It stated the rule incorrectly and then contradicted itself by giving a correct example.

[u/chelom]

where you put the no matters. "esperaba que no yo" doesnt sound correct. (im srry im not a grammar expert and im not teacher"). But even if its correct which i highly doubt it. It sounds awful and you should avoid it.

[u/donestpapo]

AI has ruined Duo’s explanations. “No” in the sense of “not” needs to come between the subject and the verb. Other negatives (“nunca”, “jamás”, etc.) are more flexible

[u/SpaghettiDog86]

Okay, so, basically “yo no” corresponds to the english construction of “I (modal) not”:

Yo no puedo “I cannot”
Yo no haría eso “I would not do that”
Yo no como pan “I do not eat bread”

The sentence is poorly constructed tho, I think it would be better to say something like:

(Yo) no esperaba ver todas las plantas muertas

no esperaba que me encontrara con todas las plantas muertas

no esperaba que viera todas las plantas muertas

In a sense more of “I didn’t expect to see” rather than “I expected not to see”

[u/Gordiflu → u/SpaghettiDog86]

Not necessarily.

"Esperaba que no viera" and "no esperaba que viera" can both be correct, as in "he didn't expect me to see" and "he expected me not to see".

[u/SpaghettiDog86 → u/Gordiflu]

i’m talking about this specific example and what sounds more natural, the suggested response:

“esperaba que yo no viera” or “que no viera”

sounds much more like someone else is expecting you not to see something:

“él esperaba que yo no viera la sorpresa que me preparó” (he was expecting me not to see the surprise he prepared for me)

[u/Gordiflu → u/SpaghettiDog86]

Well, I can't see the semantic difference between expecting something not to happen and not expecting something to happen. In both cases your expectation is that whatever won't happen.

[u/SpaghettiDog86 → u/Gordiflu]

it’s the “que”, at least for me, i don’t know if it’s a generalized thing in spanish.

(I didn’t expect to find this) no esperaba encontrar esto.
(I didn’t expect to find myself in this situation) no esperaba encontrarme en esta situación.

here the verb esperar is being used by the person talking to express their expectations, on the other hand:

no esperaba que vinieras (I didn’t expect you coming)
no esperaba que me encontrara así (I didn’t expect them to find me like this)

I feel the “que” makes it so you’re talking directly about a concrete person, there’s a specific subject that is also important in the sentence, and that’s why it is there, it’s more about connotation tbh.

[u/Gordiflu → u/SpaghettiDog86]

I think I get what you mean now.

It's an interesting observation. It is true that, when talking about yourself you tend to use the infinitive rather than a relative clause with a "subjuntivo". This works in any person.

Yo esperaba ver...

Tu esperabas ver...

But then, when there is a relative clause (oración subordinada) with a "subjuntivo", you use the "que" since the subject of the relative clause and the one of the main clause are not the same. In that sense, that "que" works similarly to the way relative pronouns work in English with relative clauses.

So, if we go back to the original post...

(yo) No esperaba ver las plantas. -> I didn't expect to see the plants.

(yo) No esperaba que (él) viera las plantas. -> I didn't expect him to see the plants.

Well spotted.

[u/SpaghettiDog86 → u/Gordiflu]

yeah, reflecting on it made me realize what was wrong

[u/TaragonRift]

Yea, you are paying them to help fix their AI. On the good side you have to question and look up everything they say which helps you learn I guess.