What do verbs like decirles mean?
I am trying to learn the present perfect subjunctive with the subjunctive form of haber, but having problems with this one practice sentence. If one sentence said: Sus padres prefieren que ella (decirles) la hora de regreso antes de salir. Would it be les haya dicho or what is the correct way to fill in the present perfect subjunctive in between the ella and la hora using decirles? Gracias!
3 Answers
"Les haya dicho" is the present perfect subjunctive, but it doesn't make sense here. Nicakim gives the correct word for the sentence.
in that sentence the correct word would be "les diga"
the word decirles means "to tell them"
You might find this description from an online article useful.
Present Perfect Subjunctive ~ Perfecto de subjuntivo
The present perfect subjunctive, also known as the past or perfect subjunctive, is used when a verb or expression requiring the subjunctive in the main clause is in the present, future, or present perfect. You might notice that the same definition holds true for the regular (present) subjunctive, so what's the difference? The present subjunctive is used when the dependent clause is in the present or future, while the present perfect subjunctive is used when the dependent clause is in the past.
For example, if you want to say "I doubt you'll do it," you'd use the present subjunctive: Dudo que lo hagas. But if you wanted to say "I doubt that you did it," you'd use the present perfect subjunctive: Dudo que lo hayas hecho.
Another example: "It's good that he is studying" - Es bueno que estudie vs "It's good that he studied" - Es bueno que haya estudiado.
