Breakdown of A lo mejor mis suegros vienen a cenar.
mi
my
cenar
to have dinner
a
to
venir
to come
a lo mejor
maybe
el suegro
the father-in-law
Questions & Answers about A lo mejor mis suegros vienen a cenar.
Why is vienen in the normal present tense (indicative) instead of the subjunctive? I thought words meaning "maybe" triggered the subjunctive.
It is true that words for "maybe" like tal vez or quizás often trigger the subjunctive because they express doubt. However, the phrase a lo mejor is a special exception! It always takes the normal indicative tense, which is why we use vienen here instead of the subjunctive vengan.
If they are coming in the future, why use the present tense vienen instead of a future tense?
In Spanish, the present tense is frequently used to talk about near-future plans or events that are seen as likely. Just like in English when we say "my in-laws are coming," vienen a cenar works perfectly to talk about a dinner happening later today or tomorrow.
Why does the sentence use a cenar instead of translating "for dinner" literally as para la cena?
After verbs of motion like venir (to come) or ir (to go), Spanish uses the preposition a followed by an infinitive verb to show the purpose of the movement. So instead of using a noun phrase like "for dinner," Spanish naturally says "to dine" (a cenar).
Does a lo mejor literally mean "maybe"?
Literally, it translates to "at the best," but you should treat it as a fixed expression meaning "maybe," "perhaps," or "chances are." It is one of the most common, everyday ways to say "maybe" in spoken Spanish.
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