Breakdown of Hay que buscar la salida apenas nos ordenen evacuar.
buscar
to look for
nos
to us
hay que
(with que) one has to / must
ordenar
to organize (put in order)
Questions & Answers about Hay que buscar la salida apenas nos ordenen evacuar.
Why is ordenen in the subjunctive here instead of the indicative?
Because of the word apenas (as soon as). When apenas introduces a temporal clause about an event that hasn't happened yet, like a future evacuation order, it requires the subjunctive. If it referred to a habitual action or a completed past event, it would use the indicative.
Could I use other phrases instead of apenas to mean the same thing?
Yes! En cuanto and tan pronto como both mean 'as soon as' and follow the exact same rule, requiring the subjunctive for future actions. You could also use cuando (when), though it sounds slightly less urgent than apenas.
Why does the sentence use hay que instead of tenemos que if the translation says 'We must'?
Hay que is an impersonal expression meaning 'one must' or 'it is necessary to'. It does not specify exactly who has to do the action. The English translation uses 'We must' because English often relies on 'we' or 'you' for general instructions. To specifically say 'we have to', you would say tenemos que buscar.
Why does nos come before ordenen?
Nos (us) is an object pronoun showing who is receiving the order. Because ordenen is a conjugated verb, the pronoun usually goes immediately before it. You can generally only attach pronouns to the end of infinitives, gerunds, or affirmative commands.