Breakdown of En cualquier caso, hay que avisarle.
hay que
(with que) one has to / must
avisar
to notify / to warn
en cualquier caso
in any case
Questions & Answers about En cualquier caso, hay que avisarle.
Does en cualquier caso work the same way as the contrast connectors ahora bien or no obstante from this lesson?
They are related, but serve slightly different purposes. While ahora bien (however) and no obstante (nevertheless) introduce a contrast that directly opposes or adds conditions to the previous statement, en cualquier caso (in any case) is used to dismiss or brush aside whatever was just said. It shifts the focus to the inescapable conclusion: regardless of what was mentioned before, warning him is necessary.
The translation says 'we have to let him know,' so why use hay que instead of tenemos que?
Hay que expresses an impersonal obligation, literally meaning 'it is necessary to' or 'one must.' While tenemos que avisarle specifically means that 'we' have to do it, Spanish speakers frequently use hay que to state a general necessity. In English, we naturally translate this general need as 'we have to' or 'someone has to' to make it sound natural.
Why is it avisarle with the indirect object pronoun le, rather than the direct object lo?
The verb avisar (to notify or warn) generally takes an indirect object for the person being informed. The direct object would be the actual information given. Think of it as giving 'a warning' (the invisible direct object) to 'him' (le, the indirect object).
Why is it cualquier and not cualquiera before the noun caso?
The word cualquiera (any) drops its final -a and becomes cualquier whenever it comes directly before a singular noun. This happens regardless of whether that noun is masculine, like caso, or feminine. You only see cualquiera used with its full spelling when it stands alone as a pronoun or comes after the noun.
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