Word
Me alegro de que la galería haya fascinado al público.
Meaning
I am glad that the gallery has fascinated the public.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Me alegro de que la galería haya fascinado al público.
al
personal a + the (m)
que
that (relative pronoun, conjunction)
haber
to have (auxiliary)
el público
the audience; the public (people in general)
Questions & Answers about Me alegro de que la galería haya fascinado al público.
Why do we use the present perfect subjunctive (haya fascinado) instead of the present subjunctive (fascine)?
The main clause (Me alegro de que) expresses a present emotion, which triggers the subjunctive. We use the present perfect subjunctive (haya fascinado) because the action of fascinating the public is already completed or has already happened by the time you feel glad about it. If you used fascine, it would mean the gallery fascinates them generally or right now.
Why is there a de in Me alegro de que? Isn't it just que?
The pronominal verb is alegrarse de (to be glad about). Unlike in English where we just say 'glad that', Spanish keeps the preposition de before the conjunction que. Dropping the de here is a common mistake for learners, but it is required with this specific verb!
Could I use Me alegra que instead of Me alegro de que?
Yes! Both phrases express the same emotion, but their grammatical structure is slightly different. Me alegro de que uses the reflexive verb alegrarse, while Me alegra que works like the verb gustar (literally: 'that the gallery has fascinated the public gladdens me'). If you choose to use Me alegra, you must drop the de.
Why does público have al in front of it?