CSG157

146 Complete Spanish Grammar

Wlieii Is the Present Perfeet Subjunctive Used in Spanish?

You remember that the subjunctive is used when the subject of the main clause expresses doubt or uncertainty, a command, a piece of advice, a suggestion, feelings, or emotions about the actions or events of a different subject in the dependent clause.

The use of the present perfect subjunctive requires an appropriate sequence of tenses. The present perfect subjunctive is used when the action in the dependent clause happened before the action in the main clause.

Ellos se sorprenden de que yo haya    They are surprised (that) I turned in the papers

entregado los papeles ayer.    yesterday.

In the main clause, the action of the subject(s) (se sorprenden) is happening now, in the present; however, haya entregado, expressed with the present perfect subjunctive, happened in the past, before the action in the main clause takes place. Gertain clues may help you determine the time of the action in the dependent clause. This is the case of the adverb ayer in the above sen-tence, an expression of time pointing to the past. Now, consider a different situation:

Saldra cuando tu hayas terminado.    He/She will go out (will leave) when you have

finished.

In this example saldra refers to an action in the futurę; hayas terminado says that the action of “finishing” will have happened by the time the subject of the main clause “goes out.” Therefore, hayas terminado, expressed with the present perfect subjunctive, is also a futurę action. Depend-ing on the context, the present perfect subjunctive may express an action that takes place in the past or in the futurę.

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ejercicio

Las reacciones de la gente. Practica. Usa el preterito perfecto de subjuntivo del verbo entre parentesis para expresar las emociones de estas personas.

1.    El hombre duda que su esposa

2.    El capi tan sień te que tu mądre

3.    Yo dudo que el avión_

4. Lisa teme que ustedes

(seguir) las instrucciones. (tener) un accidente.

(despegar) (to take off). _ (perder) el partido.

5. El escritor espera que la editorial (publisher)

6. Pedro se sorprende de que Dora

(engagement).

_ (aceptar) su novela.

(romper) su compromiso

7.    Es dudoso que las autoridades .

(demonstration).

8.    No es probable que los actores

9.    Dudo que tu_

(permitir) la manifestación

(terminar) el ensayo (rehearsal).

(entregar) tu trabajo antes del lunes.