Espero que felicites a tu amiga en cuanto acabe su examen.

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Breakdown of Espero que felicites a tu amiga en cuanto acabe su examen.

• a: to
• la amiga: the friend
• que: that
• tu: your
• su: her
• acabar: to finish
• esperar: to hope
• en cuanto: as soon as
• el examen: the exam
• felicitar: to congratulate

Questions & Answers about Espero que felicites a tu amiga en cuanto acabe su examen.

Why does felicites use the subjunctive mood?

The verb is in the subjunctive because Espero que… expresses a hope or wish, which typically triggers the subjunctive in Spanish. It’s a non-factual or desired action, so Spanish requires felicites instead of the indicative form.

Why does the sentence say felicites a tu amiga instead of using an object pronoun?

In Spanish, it’s natural to specify the direct object (the person being congratulated) with a followed by their name or “amiga.” While you could use an object pronoun hypothetically, in this case it’s more clear and common to specify the friend directly.

Why is acabe also in the subjunctive?

The conjunction en cuanto (meaning "as soon as") often triggers the subjunctive when referring to a future event that hasn’t happened yet. Here, the speaker is talking about something that will happen in the future, so acabe is in the subjunctive.

What does su refer to in su examen?

Su is a possessive adjective referring to “her exam.” In this context, su means “her,” since it matches the feminine friend mentioned earlier. It’s the formal or third-person singular possessive adjective.

How would this sentence change if I didn’t use the subjunctive?

If you used the indicative (for example, felicitas or acaba), it would sound unnatural or incorrect to a Spanish speaker in this context. The indicative would imply something more certain or factual rather than an expected or future action, which doesn’t align with the meaning of the sentence.