se esperaba

was expected

→ se

phrase Uncommon #12,450

was expected An impersonal or passive expression meaning that something was expected. In context, se espera can mean “it is expected,” while se esperaba is the past form, “it was expected.”

SP: Se esperaba que llegaran antes de anochecer.

EN: It was expected that they would arrive before nightfall.

La película fue mucho mejor de lo que se esperaba.

The movie was much better than expected.

Tal como se esperaba, él aprobó el examen.

As expected, he passed the exam.

Como se esperaba.

As expected.

— 3 Idiots (2009)

Sé que ninguno de ustedes se esperaba esto.

I know none of you expected this.

— Star Trek II: La ira de Khan (1982)

Tom no hizo lo que se esperaba que hiciera.

Tom didn’t do what he was expected to do.

Gastamos más dinero de lo que se esperaba.

We spent more money than expected.

Mary no se esperaba a que Tom le ayudara.

Mary didn't expect Tom to help her.

Tom no sabía exactamente que se esperaba de él.

Tom didn’t know exactly what was expected of him.

Lamentablemente, los resultados nunca fueron tan buenos como se esperaba.

Unfortunately, the results were never as good as expected.

Y eso era lo que se esperaba.

And that was what was expected.

— Dangal (2016)

John lo hizo incluso mejor de lo que se esperaba.

John did even better than expected.

Tal como se esperaba, él ganó el premio.

As expected, he won the prize.

Nadie se esperaba esto de Tom.

Nobody expected this from Tom.