Breakdown of Cenamos después de que llegue tu padre.
llegar
to arrive
el padre
the father
tu
your (singular)
cenar
to have dinner
después de que
after (conjunction)
Questions & Answers about Cenamos después de que llegue tu padre.
Why is cenamos in the present tense if the English translation says 'We'll have dinner'?
In Spanish, you can often use the present tense to talk about the future, especially for planned events or things that are certain to happen soon. You could also say cenaremos (we will have dinner), but cenamos is very common and natural in everyday conversation.
Why do we use the subjunctive llegue instead of the indicative llega here?
The phrase después de que (after) always triggers the subjunctive when it refers to an action that has not happened yet. Since the father has not arrived yet, we must use the subjunctive llegue.
Could I just say después de llegue without the que?
No, because you are introducing a conjugated verb with a new subject (your father). When you do this after después de, you must add que. You only drop the que when there is no new subject and you use an infinitive verb, like in después de cenar (after having dinner).
Why is the subject tu padre at the very end of the sentence instead of before the verb?
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