Breakdown of El cetrero usa la caperuza para que el pájaro se calme.
el pájaro
the bird
usar
to use / to wear
para
for
que
that / than
Questions & Answers about El cetrero usa la caperuza para que el pájaro se calme.
Why is calme in the subjunctive form?
The phrase para que (so that / in order that) introduces a purpose or intended outcome rather than a declared fact, which always triggers the subjunctive in Spanish. Whenever you use para que, the verb that follows will be in the subjunctive.
Why is there a se before calme? Isn't calmar just to calm?
The base verb calmar is transitive, meaning it requires a direct object (to calm someone else down). Because the bird is undergoing the change of state itself, we need the pronominal form calmarse (to calm down / to become calm). The se indicates this internal change.
Could we use the infinitive here instead of the subjunctive?
Not if the bird is the subject of the second action. If you use para plus an infinitive, the subject usually stays the same across both actions. You could say El cetrero usa la caperuza para calmar al pájaro (The falconer uses the hood to calm the bird). But because our sentence shifts the subject from the falconer to the bird to emphasize the bird calming itself, we must use para que plus the subjunctive.
Are cetrero and caperuza everyday words?