Breakdown of El veterinario liberará a los pájaros salvajes en cuanto mejore el clima.
los
the (masculine plural)
el pájaro
the bird
el clima
the weather
mejorar
to improve
el veterinario
the veterinarian
salvaje
wild
en cuanto
as soon as
liberar
to release
a
personal 'a' (marks a human direct object)
Questions & Answers about El veterinario liberará a los pájaros salvajes en cuanto mejore el clima.
Why is mejore in the subjunctive here?
The phrase en cuanto means "as soon as". When talking about an event that hasn't happened yet (the weather improving), Spanish requires the subjunctive mood after time expressions like en cuanto, cuando, and hasta que. Since the vet will release the birds in the future (liberará), the weather's improvement is also a future, pending event.
Could I use tan pronto como instead of en cuanto in this sentence?
Yes, tan pronto como and en cuanto both mean "as soon as" and are completely interchangeable. Just like en cuanto, you would also follow tan pronto como with the subjunctive (mejore) when talking about a future event.
Why is there an a before los pájaros salvajes? I thought the personal "a" was only for people.
While the personal "a" is primarily used for specific people, it is also frequently used for specific animals, especially pets or animals that the speaker has a relationship with. Since these birds are specific patients being treated and released by the vet, they take the personal "a" here.
Why does the sentence say mejore el clima instead of el clima mejore?
Learn El veterinario liberará a los pájaros salvajes en cuanto mejore el clima and more in Spanish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free