Breakdown of Ellos creen que ese mal presagio es pura brujería.
ser
to be
ellos
they
ese
that (masculine)
que
that / than
creer
to believe
malo
bad
puro
pure / nothing but / only
el presagio
the omen
la brujería
the witchcraft
Questions & Answers about Ellos creen que ese mal presagio es pura brujería.
Since this lesson is about 'que' + subjunctive, why does this sentence use the indicative 'es' after 'que'?
The phrase Ellos creen (They believe) expresses a declaration of reality from the subject's perspective, so it triggers the indicative (es). If it were negative, like No creen que... (They don't believe that...), it would introduce doubt and trigger the subjunctive (sea). This is different from the independent ¡Que...! phrases you are currently learning, which express wishes or commands and always take the subjunctive.
Why is the adjective mal used instead of malo before presagio?
The word malo (bad) drops its final -o when it comes immediately before a masculine singular noun. This shortening process is called apocopation. Since presagio (omen) is masculine and singular, malo shortens to mal. You see the exact same rule when bueno becomes buen.
In English, we can optionally say 'They believe the bad omen is pure witchcraft' without the word 'that'. Can we drop the que in Spanish?
No, you cannot drop que here. In English, the word 'that' is often optional when connecting two clauses, but in Spanish, the conjunction que is absolutely mandatory whenever it links a main clause to a subordinate clause with a conjugated verb.
What does pura imply by being placed before the noun brujería?
When placed before a noun, descriptive adjectives often take on a more figurative, subjective, or emphatic meaning. Here, pura means 'sheer', 'utter', or 'nothing but' rather than physically clean or unmixed. So pura brujería translates best to 'sheer witchcraft' or 'pure witchcraft' in the figurative sense.
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