El que fuera niño prodigio de la canción y el cine español de los
años cincuenta cayó en la trampa que le preparó la policía
valenciana.
The man who had been a child prodigy of Spanish song and cinema
in the fifties fell into the trap the Valencia police prepared for him.18.2.2 (p. 88)
17.10 Past anterior
73.7 (p. 420)
Past events which occurred before another past event or situation:
Luego que hubo terminado la carta, se sentó a leer. (see 73.7)
After he/she had finished the letter, he/she sat down to read.NOTE This verb form is not used in speech; it belongs to formal written register. It may be substituted
by the -ra form of the past subjunctive in certain styles of Spanish in the same way as the
pluperfect (see 17.9).17.11 Infinitive
The infinitive is used:(a) As the complement of many verbs:Prometió escuchar atentamente.
He/she promised to listen intently.¿Te atreves a pedir más?
Do you dare to ask for more?No sabe nadar.
He/she can’t swim.^26 (p. 131)
(b) As a noun:Trabajar es sano. Working is healthy.An article may be used with the infinitive in such cases:
el gorjear de los pájaros‘the chirping of the birds’
un murmurar constante‘a constant murmuring’NOTE English uses the ‘-ing’ form, which looks like the Spanish gerund, in such circumstances. However,
the Spanish gerund can never be used in this way.Infinitive 17.11