Breakdown of Esperamos que o banco tenha aprovado o empréstimo sem juros.
ter
to have
o banco
the bank
sem
without
que
that (conjunction)
Questions & Answers about Esperamos que o banco tenha aprovado o empréstimo sem juros.
Why is tenha aprovado used here instead of the Present Subjunctive (aprove)?
The verb esperamos (we hope) triggers the subjunctive. We use the Perfect Subjunctive (tenha aprovado) because we are hoping right now about an action that was completed in the past. If we were hoping they would approve it in the future, we would use the Present Subjunctive: Esperamos que o banco aprove...
How exactly is tenha aprovado formed in this sentence?
It is built using the Present Subjunctive of the auxiliary verb ter (which is tenha for the third-person singular o banco) plus the past participle of aprovar, which is aprovado.
Since esperamos can mean both 'we hope' and 'we hoped', how do we know it is present tense here?
The verb tense in the second half of the sentence gives it away. Because we are using the Perfect Subjunctive (tenha aprovado), the main verb esperamos must be in the present tense. If it were the past tense ('we hoped'), the sentence would require a different past subjunctive form instead.
Why is the word for 'interest' plural (juros) in this sentence?