Breakdown of Queremos contratar a otro asistente cuando la gestión mejore.
querer
to want
mejorar
to improve
otro
other
el asistente
the assistant
Questions & Answers about Queremos contratar a otro asistente cuando la gestión mejore.
Why is mejore in the subjunctive here instead of the indicative mejora?
After time conjunctions like cuando (when), you must use the subjunctive if you are referring to a future event that hasn't happened yet. Since the management hasn't improved yet, we use the present subjunctive mejore. If it were a habitual action like 'whenever the management improves', you would use the indicative.
Could we use si (if) instead of cuando (when) here?
Yes, but the grammar changes! If you say 'if the management improves', it becomes si la gestión mejora. Unlike cuando, the word si does not take the present subjunctive for future events. You must use the present indicative after si for real future possibilities, which is a great contrast to keep in mind.
Why is there an a before otro asistente?
This is the 'personal a'. In Spanish, when the direct object of a verb is a person, it is preceded by the preposition a. Even though we don't know exactly who this new assistant will be, they are still a person, so verbs like contratar (to hire) require the a when the object is a human being.
Why is 'another assistant' translated as just otro asistente instead of un otro asistente?