Breakdown of El director manda que el plazo sea mañana; sin embargo, es imposible.
ser
to be
mañana
tomorrow
que
that / than
sin embargo
however
el director
the director
imposible
impossible
mandar
to order (to command)
el plazo
the deadline
Questions & Answers about El director manda que el plazo sea mañana; sin embargo, es imposible.
Why is sea used here instead of es?
The verb mandar (to order) is a verb of influence. When someone gives a command that affects a different subject (in this case, the deadline), it triggers the subjunctive mood in the second part of the sentence. Therefore, the normal present tense es changes to the subjunctive sea.
The English translation says 'orders the deadline to be', but the Spanish uses que. Why?
In English, we often use an infinitive for commands, like 'orders it to be'. In Spanish, verbs of influence like mandar almost always require que followed by a new subject and a conjugated verb in the subjunctive. You can think of the Spanish structure as literally saying 'orders that the deadline be tomorrow'.
Why do we use the verb ser (conjugated here as sea) instead of estar for the deadline?
Even though a deadline might feel temporary, Spanish uses ser to talk about dates, times, and when events take place. Since the deadline being tomorrow is a matter of time and scheduling, ser is the correct verb.
Why is es imposible in the normal indicative mood instead of the subjunctive?
The phrase es imposible is in a completely separate, independent clause after the semicolon. The director's command only affects the clause immediately following que (el plazo sea mañana). Because the speaker is simply stating a fact that the deadline is impossible to meet, they use the normal indicative mood.
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