Breakdown of El perito atribuyó la falsificación a ese museo, que yo sepa.
yo
I
el museo
museum
ese
that (masculine)
a
to
saber
to know (facts) / to hear from (someone)
que
that / than
atribuir
to attribute
el perito
expert appraiser
la falsificación
forgery
Questions & Answers about El perito atribuyó la falsificación a ese museo, que yo sepa.
Why do we use the subjunctive sepa in the phrase que yo sepa?
The phrase que yo sepa is a fixed expression meaning "as far as I know" or "to my knowledge." It uses the subjunctive because it expresses a limitation on your knowledge, gently implying doubt or admitting that you might not have all the facts. It is a set formula, just like que digamos or que me conste, that always triggers the subjunctive to show this kind of uncertainty.
Can I translate "as far as I know" literally, like tan lejos como sé?
No, a word-for-word translation like tan lejos como sé doesn't make sense in Spanish. You will sometimes hear hasta donde yo sé (which usually takes the indicative), but que yo sepa is the most common, idiomatic way native speakers express "as far as I know" or "to my knowledge."
Why is atribuyó spelled with a "y" instead of an "i"?
The verb atribuir ends in -uir. In the preterite (simple past) tense, verbs ending in -uir (like construir or huir) change the unstressed "i" to a "y" in the third-person forms (él/ella/usted and ellos/ellas/ustedes). Spanish spelling rules generally avoid putting an unstressed "i" between two vowels, so atribuió becomes atribuyó.
Is perito the standard word for "appraiser"?
Perito translates to "expert," "specialist," or "expert witness," and by extension, a technical appraiser. It is used when someone has specialized technical knowledge, such as an art expert authenticating a forgery or an insurance adjuster assessing car damage. For something like a real estate appraiser, you would more likely use the word tasador.
Learn El perito atribuyó la falsificación a ese museo, que yo sepa and more in Spanish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free