Question 1

Why is tienen in the indicative here? I thought expressions of doubt like capaz que required the subjunctive.

Accepted Answer

While many expressions of doubt (like dudar que or es posible que) require the subjunctive, capaz que is very flexible in Latin American Spanish. It is frequently followed by the indicative in spoken Spanish when the speaker feels the statement is a strong possibility. Because the speaker just mentioned having a hunch (Tengo una corazonada), they are leaning toward believing it, making the indicative tienen a very natural choice here.

Question 2

What exactly is a corazonada? It looks like it is related to corazón.

Accepted Answer

You are right! A corazonada is a hunch or a gut feeling. It comes from corazón (heart) combined with the suffix -ada, which often implies a sudden blow, action, or effect. So, a corazonada is essentially a sudden feeling in your heart telling you something is true.

Question 3

I learned that capaz means "capable". How does it mean "might" here?

Accepted Answer

It is the exact same word, but used in a different structure! When you use the phrase ser capaz de, it means "to be capable of". However, in many parts of Latin America, using capaz que (or just capaz) at the start of a clause is a very common idiom meaning "perhaps", "maybe", or "there is a chance that".

Question 4

Could I drop the que and just say capaz tienen razón?

Accepted Answer

Yes, absolutely. In everyday spoken Spanish across much of Latin America, it is very common to drop the que and simply use capaz directly before the verb. Both capaz que tienen razón and capaz tienen razón sound perfectly natural and mean the same thing.

Tengo una corazonada; capaz que tienen razón.

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