Breakdown of El jefe exige que vayas a la reunión y seas responsable.
ser
to be
y
and
ir
to go
a
to
que
that (relative pronoun, conjunction)
el jefe
the boss (m)
la reunión
the meeting
exigir
to demand
responsable
responsible
Questions & Answers about El jefe exige que vayas a la reunión y seas responsable.
Why do we use the subjunctive verbs vayas and seas in this sentence?
The boss is making a demand using the verb exigir (to demand). When a person tries to influence or command the actions of someone else, we use que plus the subjunctive mood for those requested actions.
Where does the spelling of vayas come from?
It is the present subjunctive form of ir (to go) for tú (you). Ir is a fully irregular verb in this tense. Instead of looking like its normal present tense forms, its subjunctive root changes entirely to vaya-.
Why is the second verb seas and not eres?
The demand from the boss applies to both actions connected by y (and). Because of this, the subjunctive mood carries over to the second verb. Seas is the fully irregular present subjunctive of ser (to be) for tú.
Why do we use a form of ser (seas) here instead of estar (estés) for being responsible?
We use ser because being responsible is viewed as a personal characteristic or quality. Even though the boss is demanding it for a specific meeting, Spanish treats being a responsible person as a defining trait, which always requires ser.
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