Ha decidido/ Decidi

Question

Hello!

Some time ago I asked you about the spanish present perfect. So here is my try:

Ha decidido que llegar a Alemania - my decision is made, now I still want to go there; it hasn't changed.

Decidí que llegar a Alemania - my decision was made, now it can be current, or not; there is no information about "today"

Am I right? Thanks

This is an interesting question. I'll give an answer as soon as I have time. - Oshnaj, Aug 4, 2016

Answer 1

Hello Matty08

It's a good try even though it has some mistakes.

After "que" the verb never goes in infinitive form and in this case, that "que" has no sense.

Ha decidido llegar a Alemania. This is gramatically correct, nevertheless I think "llegar" doesn't sound really good here. I'd say: "Ha decidido ir a Alemania." and your explanation is totally right!

Remember that "Ha decidido" refers to someone else. The pronoun could be Él o Ella. If you want to talk about yourself, it would be: "He decidido" adding the pronoun (not necessary) "Yo he decidido"

Talking about yourself is: "He decidido ir a Alemania"

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Decidí llegar a Alemania: As I told you before, I'd say: "Decidí ir a Alemania". This is past simple and your explanation is correct as well.

Just a tip: "in spite of" is followed by a gerund or a noun. If you want to use subject + verb, use "even though" or "though". - Oshnaj, Aug 4, 2016

Thank you so muchh!! - Santyy7, Aug 4, 2016

Definitely worth a vote :) - FELIZ77, Aug 4, 2016

Answer 2

I agree that llegar in this context should be changed to ir.

Also in your explanations of each variant you mention I as in first person singular, so the first sentence should be: He decidido .............................

Yes yes yesss, you're right! - Santyy7, Aug 4, 2016

Answer 3

Thanks!

I was confused about this "que". I thought it'd be correct, because in Polish we'd put it in the sentence. Thanks for the emendation!

Can The person who flagged this explain why this post was flagged? - rac1, Aug 5, 2016

I didn't but this looks like more a comment than an answer. The answer box is supposed to hold answers, that's why the comment box is made for. - Oshnaj, Aug 5, 2016

I agree, but he's still rather new to SD. - rac1, Aug 5, 2016

Answer 4

Since the present perfect is a present tense, it can often be expressed with a simple present form. The same applies to Spanish.

He decidido ir a Alemania. (= voy a ir a Alemania.)
(llegar was replaced by ir due to previous answers.)

Now, the difference is not always clear-cut. Saying he decido/decidí ir a Alemania shows a myriad of ways to what context we'd like to set the phrase.

In cases like these, the past form is used when we're thinking on a specific time in the past.

Decidí ir a Alemania. (= last week, yesterday, 2 hours ago, etc.)

If we're thinking about unfinished time expressions, the nuances are different, and time expressions like today can become finished. Compare:

He decidido ir a Alemania. (= the day is not over yet.)
Decidí ir a Alemania. (= the day is over.)