Breakdown of A lo mejor el cetrero da por concluido el proceso hoy.
hoy
today
a lo mejor
maybe
el proceso
the process
el cetrero
the falconer
dar por
to consider as
concluido
concluded
Questions & Answers about A lo mejor el cetrero da por concluido el proceso hoy.
How does the phrase da por concluido work in this sentence?
The structure dar por followed by a past participle or adjective is an evaluative periphrasis. It is used to express that a subject considers or assumes something to be a certain way. Here, da por concluido translates to "considers concluded" or "assumes finished."
Does the participle concluido need to match anything in gender and number?
Yes. In the dar por construction, the participle functions like an adjective describing the direct object. Because the direct object here is el proceso (a masculine singular noun), the participle must match it, making it concluido. If the object were feminine, like la tarea, it would be da por concluida la tarea.
Could I put the direct object in the middle, like da el proceso por concluido?
Absolutely. Both word orders are perfectly valid and natural. Keeping the verb and participle together (da por concluido el proceso) is very common, especially when the object is a longer phrase, but splitting them with the direct object works just as well.
Since a lo mejor expresses doubt, shouldn't the verb da be in the subjunctive mood?
It is a great question, but no. While many expressions of doubt (like tal vez or quizás) frequently trigger the subjunctive, a lo mejor is a notable exception in Spanish. It is almost exclusively followed by the indicative mood, which is why we use the indicative form da here.
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