Word
Cuando tu suegro tenga tiempo, brindamos con vino.
Meaning
When your father-in-law has time, we will toast with wine.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Cuando tu suegro tenga tiempo, brindamos con vino.
tu
your
con
with
el vino
the wine
cuando
when (statement)
Questions & Answers about Cuando tu suegro tenga tiempo, brindamos con vino.
Why do we use tenga instead of tiene here?
This is the key rule of this lesson! Because the father-in-law having time is an event that has not happened yet, we use the subjunctive. After cuando, you use the subjunctive (like tenga) for anticipated future events, but you use the regular present tense (like tiene) for things that happen habitually in the present.
How exactly is tenga formed?
Tenga is the present subjunctive of the irregular verb tener (to have). To build it, you start with the 'yo' form of the regular present tense (tengo), drop the 'o', and add the opposite vowel ending for the 'he/she/it' form. That leaves you with tenga.
Why does the second half use brindamos (present tense) if the English translation says 'we will toast'?
In Spanish, you can often use the simple present tense (brindamos) to talk about future actions that are planned or certain to happen. You could also say vamos a brindar (we are going to toast) or brindaremos (we will toast), but using the present tense for near-future plans is very common and sounds totally natural.
What does brindamos mean? Is it related to eating toast?