Breakdown of No es que busque una excusa, sino que tengo pereza.
ser
to be
no
no, not
tener
to have
una
a, an (feminine)
buscar
to look for
que
that / than
sino
but (rather)
la excusa
the excuse
la pereza
the laziness
Questions & Answers about No es que busque una excusa, sino que tengo pereza.
Why is busque in the subjunctive here?
The phrase no es que introduces a rejected reason or a false assumption, which triggers the subjunctive. By using busque, you are explicitly denying this action and saying "It is not the case that I'm looking for an excuse."
Why is tengo in the indicative, while busque is in the subjunctive?
While the first part of the sentence rejects a reason (using the subjunctive), the second part after sino que states the actual, true reason. Because you are declaring a reality ("I am actually feeling lazy"), you must use the indicative verb tengo.
Why do we use sino que instead of just sino?
Why does the sentence use tengo pereza instead of an adjective like estoy perezoso?
In Spanish, many physical or mental states are expressed as nouns you "have" using tener, rather than adjectives you "are" using estar. Tener pereza literally translates to "to have laziness" and is the most natural way to express that you are feeling lazy.
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