Breakdown of Es terrible que la máquina reemplace al humano.
ser
to be
al
to the
que
that / than
terrible
terrible / awful
la máquina
machine
reemplazar
to replace
el humano
the human
Questions & Answers about Es terrible que la máquina reemplace al humano.
Why do we use the subjunctive reemplace here instead of the indicative reemplaza?
The phrase es terrible que (it is terrible that) is an impersonal expression that gives an opinion or evaluates a situation. Whenever you use es + [adjective] + que to express a judgment or emotion, the verb in the second part of the sentence must be in the subjunctive mood, which is why we use reemplace.
Why is reemplace spelled with a 'c' when the infinitive is reemplazar?
This is a spelling change to keep the pronunciation consistent. For regular -ar verbs, the present subjunctive endings start with e (like -e, -es, -emos). In Spanish spelling rules, the letter z changes to a c before an e. So, reemplazar becomes reemplace.
Why is it al humano and not just el humano?
This is the 'personal a' in action! When the direct object of a sentence is a person (here, the human), you need to put an a before it. Since the word is el humano, the preposition a and the article el combine to form the contraction al.
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