Breakdown of Quando lhes ligares, é bom que se estejam a despachar!
ser
to be
bom
good
estar
to be (temporary / location)
a
to / at (direction)
quando
when
ligar
to call
lhes
to them / to you (plural formal)
que
that (conjunction)
despachar-se
to hurry up
Questions & Answers about Quando lhes ligares, é bom que se estejam a despachar!
Why is the subjunctive used in estejam a despachar?
The phrase é bom que expresses an opinion, wish, or strong recommendation, which forces the following verb into the subjunctive mood. Since we are talking about an ongoing action, we use the present subjunctive estejam along with a despachar to show they should be in the middle of hurrying up at that exact moment.
Why is the reflexive pronoun se placed before estejam instead of attached to despachar?
Why does the sentence use ligares instead of the present tense ligas?
The word quando triggers the future subjunctive when you are talking about a specific action that hasn't happened yet. Since you haven't called them yet, you must use the future subjunctive for the tu (you) form, which is ligares.
Does é bom que always translate to "had better"?
Literally it means "it is good that", but in conversational Portuguese it is the standard, idiomatic way to express "had better" or to give a strong warning, implying that it is in their best interest to be hurrying up when you call.
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