Breakdown of Como el inspector no acepte la declaración, tenemos que pagar más.
no
no, not
tener
to have
pagar
to pay
más
more
aceptar
to accept
como
if (as a warning/threat)
el inspector
inspector
la declaración
tax return
Questions & Answers about Como el inspector no acepte la declaración, tenemos que pagar más.
Why is Como translated as 'If' here instead of 'Since' or 'How'?
When como is followed by the subjunctive (like acepte), it creates a conditional clause, similar to saying if (si). However, this structure specifically carries a tone of warning or negative consequence. It is like saying 'If the inspector happens to not accept it (which would be bad)...'
Why is it acepte and not acepta?
Acepte is the present subjunctive form of aceptar. The rule for this type of warning is to use como plus the present subjunctive. If you used the normal present tense (acepta), the sentence would change meaning to 'Since the inspector does not accept the return...' and state a known fact rather than a conditional warning.
Does declaración usually mean 'return'?
Why is it tenemos que pagar and not just tenemos pagar?
To express an obligation like 'to have to' do something, Spanish always uses the phrase tener que followed by an infinitive verb. Here, tenemos que (we have to) connects directly to the infinitive pagar (to pay). You cannot drop the que.
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