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Ustedes no mencionan que la calumnia parezca descabellada.

Ustedes no mencionan que la calumnia parezca descabellada.
You do not mention that the slander seems absurd.
From Lesson 480:Negative communication triggers (no decir que)·Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about Ustedes no mencionan que la calumnia parezca descabellada.

Why is parezca in the subjunctive here instead of the indicative parece?
The phrase no mencionan que is a negative communication trigger. When verbs of communication like mencionar, decir, or afirmar are made negative, they introduce doubt or deny a fact rather than declaring one. This requires the subjunctive in the following clause, which is why we use parezca.
If the sentence were affirmative, would it still use the subjunctive?
No, it would use the indicative. If you say Ustedes mencionan que..., you are reporting information or declaring a fact rather than denying it. The sentence would become Ustedes mencionan que la calumnia parece descabellada.
Why does the verb parecer change to parezca in the subjunctive?
Verbs ending in a vowel plus -cer or -cir (like parecer and conocer) insert a z before the c when forming the present subjunctive. This spelling change happens because a c followed by an a would sound like a hard k, so adding the z preserves the soft s sound.
What is the literal meaning of the adjective descabellada?
In this context, descabellada means absurd, crazy, or wild. Literally, it stems from cabello (hair), painting a picture of an idea that is hair-brained or unhinged. It takes the feminine ending -a to agree with the noun la calumnia.

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