Breakdown of Es injusto que ellos abandonen al perro.
ser
to be
el perro
the dog
ellos
they
al
to the
que
that / than
abandonar
to abandon
injusto
unfair
Questions & Answers about Es injusto que ellos abandonen al perro.
Why is abandonen in the subjunctive here?
The phrase es injusto que (it is unfair that) expresses a value judgment or emotion. When you express how you feel about an action done by someone else, the verb in that second part of the sentence must be in the subjunctive. That is why the regular present tense abandonan becomes the subjunctive abandonen.
Why does the sentence use al perro instead of just el perro?
The word al is a contraction of a plus el. This a is the personal a, which is normally used when the object of a verb is a specific person. However, in Spanish, we also use the personal a for animals that people have an emotional connection to, like pets. Since a dog is generally viewed as a pet, it takes the personal a here.
Does the opposite phrase, es justo que, also trigger the subjunctive?
Yes! Both es injusto que (it is unfair that) and es justo que (it is fair that) express a subjective judgment or opinion about an action. Because they share this emotional or judgmental quality, they both require the following verb to be in the subjunctive.
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