Breakdown of Sigo dudando que el aterrizaje haya sido sin turbulencia.
ser
to be
que
that / than
seguir
to continue
haber
(auxiliary) have
sin
without
dudar
to doubt
el aterrizaje
landing
la turbulencia
turbulence
Questions & Answers about Sigo dudando que el aterrizaje haya sido sin turbulencia.
Why do we use the present perfect subjunctive haya sido here instead of the indicative ha sido?
The phrase dudando que (doubting that) in the main clause expresses doubt and uncertainty, which triggers the subjunctive in the second half of the sentence. Because we are talking about an action that is already complete (the landing) but still feels relevant to the present moment, we use the present perfect subjunctive haya sido instead of the present subjunctive sea.
How does the combination sigo dudando work to mean I keep doubting?
In Spanish, you can combine the verb seguir (to follow or to continue) with a gerund (verbs ending in -ando or -iendo) to show that an action is ongoing. So, sigo dudando translates to I continue doubting or I am still doubting. It is the most natural way to say that you keep doing something in Spanish.
I normally associate there has been with the verb haber. Why is it haya sido (from ser) instead of haya habido?
If the sentence were I keep doubting that there has been turbulence, you would use haya habido turbulencia. However, the subject of the second clause here is el aterrizaje (the landing). You are describing how the landing itself has been, which is a characteristic of the event. Therefore, you must use haya sido, which is the present perfect subjunctive of ser.
Could I use the past subjunctive fuera instead of haya sido in this sentence?
Yes, you could say sigo dudando que el aterrizaje fuera sin turbulencia (I keep doubting that the landing was without turbulence). However, using the present perfect subjunctive haya sido (has been) strongly emphasizes that the flight just happened very recently. It effectively ties the recently completed event directly to your present feeling of doubt.
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