Breakdown of El técnico ha dicho que empezamos en cuanto llegue.
llegar
to arrive
que
that (relative pronoun, conjunction)
empezar
to begin
decir
to say / to tell
haber
to have (auxiliary)
en cuanto
as soon as (two words)
el técnico
the technician
Questions & Answers about El técnico ha dicho que empezamos en cuanto llegue.
Why is llegue in the subjunctive here?
The phrase en cuanto (as soon as) requires the subjunctive when talking about a future event that hasn't happened yet. Because the technician's arrival is still in the future, we use the present subjunctive llegue instead of the indicative llega.
Could I use tan pronto como instead of en cuanto?
Yes, tan pronto como means exactly the same thing and follows the same rules. You could say tan pronto como llegue here, and it would still require the subjunctive. The phrase en cuanto is just a bit shorter and very common in everyday Spanish.
Why use the present tense empezamos if they are going to start in the future?
Just like in English, Spanish often uses the present tense for future events that are firmly planned or about to happen. You could also use the future tense (empezaremos), but using the present tense (empezamos) emphasizes that the action is certain and immediate.
Why does the subjunctive form llegue have a U in it?
The infinitive is llegar, which has a hard G sound. To keep that exact same sound before an E in the subjunctive, Spanish spelling rules require adding a U. Without it, llege would be pronounced with a soft G, like the Spanish j.
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