Why is it ...lo haya dicho bien and not ....lo dijera bien?
I asked a native speaker (from Mexico) how to say "I hope I said it right."
I know that "lo dije bien?" is "did I say it right/well?"
So I thought adding "espero que" meant dije would simply change to the subjunctive:
"Espero que yo lo dijera bien."
But she said it would have to be:
"Espero que lo haya dicho bien." OR "Espero haberlo dicho bien." (this 2nd one I have no clue about, I haven't studied using haber in it's infinitive form).
Can anyone explain why I can't say "I hope I said it right" vs. "I hope I have said it right" ?
AND, can I say: "Espero que lo diga bien" for "I hope I'm saying it right". ?
10 Answers
The governing verb is in the present tense (espero) and you are describing something that happened at a prior time, so you should use the present perfect subjunctive according to the usual sequence of tenses.
The direct translation for "I hope I said it right" would be "Espero lo dije bien", it is understandable but might not sound natural. "espero que yo lo dijera bien" does not make sense, so forget about this. Also, "Espero que lo haya dicho bien" and "Espero haberlo dicho bien" are more elaborated and you will definitely sound more natural, they have the same meaning and impact, so you can go them any of these last two.
So I thought adding "espero que" meant dije would simply change to the subjunctive:
"Espero que yo lo dijera bien."
You use "que" and subjunctive for situations that don't involve you.
But she said it would have to be:
"Espero que lo haya dicho bien." OR "Espero haberlo dicho bien." (this 2nd one I have no clue about, I haven't studied using haber in it's infinitive form).
The first one might be grammatically correct, but it is rare. The second one is the one most natives would use. This is how it works:
The verb "espero" requires an object, which has to be a noun or equivalent, e.g. "Espero algo", "Espero una sorpresa",... If want you hope not a virtual thing, like "algo" or "sorpresa", but a virtual event, you need to use a verb, and here there are two options:
1) you can use an infinitive if you can clearly determine who is supposed to perform the action. In "Espero ganar" (I expect to win) is pretty clear who do you want to be the winner (yourself), because you are talking about yourself in the first place.
2) if you want the action to apply to others, then you need a subordinate clause, which in this case is totally virtual, so you need "que + subjunctive", e.g. "Espero que gane" (I hope he/she wins). This example could have also be interpreted as "I hope that I win", but we prefer to say "Espero ganar", which is more straightforward.
In your original sentence, the idea is the same, but what you wish is that something already finished was correct. This time you use a perfect infinitive (something like "to have said"): "Espero haberlo dicho bien".
Anna,
All your Mexican friend did was use the present perfect subjunctive. So she said, "I hope that I have said it right." when she said Espero que lo haya dicho bien.
I agree with you that the subjunctive is necessary following esperar here. I also don't think "Espero lo dije bien" is grammatically correct for that reason.
But I don't like your sentence with the imperfect. Your Mexican friend's sentence is best to me.
Shoot, I don't understand that.
It's fine to say espero que lo diga bien, but it is somewhat ambiguous (as it can mean "I hope I say it right" or "I hope he/she/it/you says/say it right.")
If you mean, "I hope I say it right," then the subject is "I" in both clauses (the subject doesn't change). In such a case, you can drop the que and use the infinitive instead of the subjunctive.
Espero decirlo bien.
However, so far as I know, it is not wrong to use "que" + subjunctive when the subject doesn't change.
Consider...
Quiero ir al restaurante vs. Quiero que (yo) vaya al restaurante (they both mean the same thing...which one would you tend to say?)
Why are Goyo and Neobarba hating on using dijera? Neobarba says it doesn't make sense. Is that true?
I think that it just changes the sense of the sentence. But I could be wrong.
Neobarba mentioned: Espero haberlo dicho bien.
That is just another way of saying espero que lo haya dicho bien. Again, since the subject is the same in both sentences (yo), then you can remove the "que" and use the infinitive.
Since the whole infinitive clause (in English) is "to have said it," then the infinitive clause in Spanish is "haberlo dicho."
Espero que lo haya dicho bien = I hope I have said it right. (As others have stated)
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I think (but am not 100% sure) that...
Espero que lo dijera bien = I hope I was saying it right.
...which is slightly different than what you were asking for. I guess there is no preterite subjunctive, so one much present perfect subjunctive for what you wanted.
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By the way (more guessing), but I imagine that...
Esperé / Esperaba que lo hubiera dicho bien = I hoped / was hoping that I had said it right. (Past perfect subjunctive).
My other question is how to say: "I hope I'm saying it right"
Is it: "Espero que lo diga bien."
Governing verb: Present tense Subordinate verb: Present Subjunctive
The subject doesn't change, so you shouldn't be using the subjunctive or this sentence structure.
Ok, I understand what Lorenzo is saying. And the link is very helpful. Thank you!
My other question is how to say: "I hope I'm saying it right"
Is it: "Espero que lo diga bien."
Governing verb: Present tense Subordinate verb: Present Subjunctive
