Breakdown of Nos entristece que ustedes hayan tenido un mareo severo.
tener
to have
un
a, an (masculine)
ustedes
you (plural)
que
that / than
nos
to us
haber
(auxiliary) have
severo
severe
entristecer
to sadden
el mareo
the dizziness (motion sickness)
Questions & Answers about Nos entristece que ustedes hayan tenido un mareo severo.
Why is the present perfect subjunctive (hayan tenido) used here instead of the simple present subjunctive (tengan)?
The main verb entristece expresses an emotion, which requires the subjunctive in the second part of the sentence. We use the present perfect subjunctive (hayan tenido) because the action of having dizziness already happened in the past, but the emotion about it is being felt right now in the present.
Why is the sentence structured as Nos entristece instead of using nosotros?
The verb entristecer (to sadden) functions like gustar. The situation (that you got dizzy) is the subject causing the emotion, and nos is the indirect object receiving it. You can think of it literally as 'It saddens us that...'
I thought severo meant 'strict' or 'stern', not 'severe'. Is it correct to use it for medical symptoms?
Traditionally, severo mostly meant 'strict' (like a demanding teacher). However, due to English influence, it is now widely accepted and used in Latin America to mean 'severe' or 'serious' for medical symptoms, injuries, and weather. Another excellent, more traditional word choice here would be grave.
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