Es importante que ustedes tengan un pasaporte válido.
It is important that you have a valid passport.
Breakdown of Es importante que ustedes tengan un pasaporte válido.
ser
to be
tener
to have
un
a, an (masculine)
ustedes
you (plural)
importante
important
que
that / than
el pasaporte
the passport
válido
valid
Questions & Answers about Es importante que ustedes tengan un pasaporte válido.
Why do we use "tengan" here instead of the regular present tense "tienen"?
The phrase Es importante que (It is important that) expresses a subjective opinion or a necessity. This is a classic trigger for the subjunctive mood in Spanish. Because of this trigger, we must use the subjunctive form tengan instead of the regular present tense form tienen.
How do you build the subjunctive form "tengan" from the verb "tener"?
To find the subjunctive form for common irregular verbs like tener, you usually start with the normal present tense yo (I) form, which is tengo. You drop the "-o" to get the base teng-. Then, because tener is an "-er" verb, you swap to the opposite "-ar" verb endings. For ustedes, the ending is "-an", which gives us tengan.
Could I leave out the word "ustedes" and just say "que tengan"?
Yes, you can! In Spanish, subject pronouns like ustedes are usually optional. However, since the verb form tengan is shared by ustedes (you all), ellos (they, masculine), and ellas (they, feminine), keeping ustedes in the sentence helps avoid any confusion about exactly who needs the valid passport.
Why is the adjective "válido" placed after "pasaporte"?
In Spanish, descriptive adjectives like válido (valid) almost always come after the noun they describe. So, instead of saying "valid passport" like we do in English, you say pasaporte válido (passport valid).
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