Note 11.4 — Front matter

que en poco estuvo no saltase otra vez al agua, that he came near jumping into the water again. The conjunction que is here omitted before no saltase. Generally speaking, it is permissible to omit this introductory que between two contiguous verbs, the second of which is subordinate to the first, especially if the dependent verb be subjunctive. Cases in which the omission is relatively frequent are: 1) when the second clause begins with no, as above, or after a verb of fearing; 2) after a verb of mental activity, as espero me escribas; 3) after an impersonal verb or verb-phrase, as no es fácil lo consiga.