Breakdown of ¿Has suspendido alguna asignatura este semestre?
este
this (m.sg., also esta, estos, estas, esto)
alguno
some, any
haber
to have (auxiliary)
la asignatura
the subject
suspender
to fail (an exam)
el semestre
the semester
Questions & Answers about ¿Has suspendido alguna asignatura este semestre?
Why does the sentence use has suspendido instead of the simple past tense?
In Spain, the Pretérito Perfecto Compuesto (the "have done" tense, like has suspendido) is used for events that happened in a timeframe that isn't over yet. The clue here is este semestre (this semester). Because this semester is still ongoing, we use this tense rather than the simple past.
Wait, does suspender mean "to fail"?
Is asignatura a false friend? It looks a lot like "signature".
It is a false friend! An asignatura is a school subject or course (like math, history, or biology). If you need to say "signature" (like signing a document) in Spanish, the word you want is firma.
Why do we use alguna here instead of algún?
Alguna means "any" or "some". Because it is describing asignatura, which is a feminine singular noun, it must take the feminine singular form alguna. You only drop the "a" and use algún when it comes right before a masculine singular noun (like algún problema).
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