Breakdown of Ese hábito es dañino, de ahí que el médico lo prohíba.
ser
to be
de
from / of
ese
that (masculine)
que
that / than
lo
it / him (direct object)
el hábito
habit
prohibir
to prohibit
ahí
there (near you)
el médico
the doctor (physician)
dañino
harmful
Questions & Answers about Ese hábito es dañino, de ahí que el médico lo prohíba.
Why do we use the subjunctive prohíba in this sentence?
The phrase de ahí que (meaning "hence" or "that's why") always triggers the subjunctive mood. It is a connector that introduces the logical consequence or origin of the first clause (Ese hábito es dañino). Because the focus is on the logical deduction rather than just declaring a new fact, Spanish requires the subjunctive here, resulting in prohíba instead of the indicative prohíbe.
Could I use por eso instead of de ahí que to say the same thing?
Yes, but it would change the grammar of the second half of the sentence. Por eso is a very common, slightly less formal way to say "that's why" or "therefore." However, unlike de ahí que, por eso is followed by the indicative mood. If you swapped them, the sentence would become: Ese hábito es dañino, por eso el médico lo prohíbe.
Why is there a written accent on the "i" in prohíba?
The infinitive is prohibir. When conjugating it into the present subjunctive, the spoken stress falls on the i. Because the o and i (separated only by the silent h) would normally blend into a single syllable (a diphthong), a written accent mark is required to "break" them into two separate syllables so the i can carry the stress. This separation is called a hiatus.
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