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Muchos estudiantes deben solicitar permiso para ausentarse de clase.

Muchos estudiantes deben solicitar permiso para ausentarse de clase.
Many students must request permission to be absent from class.
FromLesson 7inHardcore Spanish (Spain)

Questions & Answers about Muchos estudiantes deben solicitar permiso para ausentarse de clase.

Why is deben used here instead of something like tienen que?
In Spanish, deber and tener que both express obligation, but deber can sound slightly more formal or more related to moral/official duty. Using deben simply emphasizes the idea that the students are obliged or required to do it.
Why are two infinitives (solicitar and ausentarse) joined in the sentence?
After deben, we typically use an infinitive. In this sentence, the structure is deben solicitar (algo) para ausentarse de clase. The verb deben applies to the action of solicitar, and solicitar itself is followed by para plus another infinitive, ausentarse, indicating the purpose of requesting permission (to be absent).
Why does ausentarse appear in its reflexive form?
The verb ausentarse is reflexive in Spanish to indicate that someone removes themselves from a place or situation. It essentially means "to be absent" or “to excuse oneself.” Using ausentar without the reflexive pronoun is not standard in this context.
Could we say Muchos estudiantes deben pedir permiso instead of deben solicitar permiso?
Yes. Pedir and solicitar can both mean "to ask for" or "to request." Solicitar is a bit more formal, often used in official or more formal contexts, whereas pedir is more common in everyday speech. Both are correct, just slightly different in tone.
Why is it para ausentarse de clase instead of por ausentarse de clase?
Para indicates purpose or intention (in this case, the purpose of requesting permission is to be absent), whereas por usually indicates cause or reason. So we use para when we want to express the goal or purpose of the action (requesting permission in order to be absent).
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