Breakdown of El presidente cambia la política a fin de que mejore la economía.
cambiar
to change / to exchange, to swap (one thing for another)
mejorar
to improve
la economía
the economy
el presidente
the president
la política
the policy
a fin de que
in order that
Questions & Answers about El presidente cambia la política a fin de que mejore la economía.
Why do we use the subjunctive mejore instead of the indicative mejora here?
The phrase a fin de que (in order that / so that) introduces a purpose clause. When the subject changes between the two halves of the sentence—from el presidente to la economía—connectors expressing purpose always require the subjunctive.
How is a fin de que different from para que?
They mean exactly the same thing and both trigger the subjunctive. However, a fin de que is more formal and is frequently used in news, literature, and political contexts, which perfectly fits the tone of this sentence.
Why does the verb come before the subject in mejore la economía? Can I say la economía mejore?
You could absolutely say a fin de que la economía mejore, but putting the subject after the verb is incredibly common and natural in Spanish subordinate clauses. It flows very well, especially when the subject (la economía) is the most important new piece of information being emphasized at the end of the thought.
If the president changed the policy in order to improve his own image, would we still use a fin de que + subjunctive?
No. If there is no subject change (the president does the changing and the improving), you drop the que and use the infinitive. It would become: ...a fin de mejorar su imagen. Because our sentence has two different subjects (the president and the economy), we are forced to use the que + subjunctive structure.
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