Breakdown of Necesitamos un candidato que sea bilingüe.
ser
to be
un
a, an (masculine)
necesitar
to need
que
that / than
Questions & Answers about Necesitamos un candidato que sea bilingüe.
Why does this sentence use sea instead of es?
Because we are talking about a candidate who hasn't been found yet. We don't have a specific person in mind, so the candidate is unknown or indefinite. When describing someone or something you are looking for that might not even exist, Spanish uses the subjunctive mood—in this case, sea instead of the regular indicative es.
Since a candidate is a person, why isn't there a "personal a" before un candidato?
The "personal a" is generally used when the direct object is a specific, known person. Because we are looking for any candidate who fits the description and don't have a specific individual in mind yet, the "personal a" is dropped. If we were talking about a specific candidate we already knew, we would use it (and switch to the indicative): Conocemos a un candidato que es bilingóe.
Why do we use a form of ser (sea) instead of estar for being bilingual?
Would bilingóe change to bilingóa if we wanted a female candidate (una candidata)?