# Spanish help: "Me gusta \[the way/how/that\] tus zapatos combinen con tu chaqueta." **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 29, 2014, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spanish-help-me-gusta-the-way-how-that-tus-zapatos-combinen-con-tu-chaqueta/689559 "2014-05-29T14:37:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spanish-help-me-gusta-the-way-how-that-tus-zapatos-combinen-con-tu-chaqueta/689559/21 "2014-05-30T15:11:22Z")
Also, **Karl** , we’re talking about “combinar,” sussed out (hey, I don’t think I’ve ever used that expression–you people bring that out of me) as “combinen” in the sentence under discussion. I don’t think such a verb “combiner” exists in Spanish. French, yes, and knowing my habit of rummaging through the one cerebral junk drawer I have where I keep all my foreign languages, I might have just as easily come up with that. But then I would have zapped it into “combinan.” I think once I posted how I misunderstood the meaning of a Hebrew word (trilateral root) because I understood it’s use with German grammar. (Some other time, perhaps, I’ll go into it. 🙂 ) ETA: I now see the Apple autocorrect. I leave it in in honor of the Bilderberg conference now getting underway, I believe, and clearly Apple itself, by stepping in when I use the word “Hebrew,” is trying to warn me. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spanish-help-me-gusta-the-way-how-that-tus-zapatos-combinen-con-tu-chaqueta/689559/22 "2014-05-30T16:34:20Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > Also, **Karl** , we’re talking about “combinar,” sussed out (hey, I don’t think I’ve ever used that expression–you people bring that out of me) as “combinen” in the sentence under discussion. I don’t think such a verb “combiner” exists in Spanish. French, yes, and knowing my habit of rummaging through the one cerebral junk drawer I have where I keep all my foreign languages, I might have just as easily come up with that. But then I would have zapped it into “combinan.” Huh? 🙂 My question was regarding the use of the subjunctive vs indicative following que or cómo/como. The verb is the same, _combinar_ _Combinan_ is present indicative form, _combinen_ is present subjunctive form for third person plural verb _combinar_. Notice than when writing “que combinen…”, the subjunctive form is used, making that conditional to your first part. Reading on _como_, it seems it could be, or used to be used in a similar way of “que” in that phrase… IOW, at some point it would’ve been OK to say “como combinen tus zapatos” (without the accent). Now, though, that construct is not used and favored, and “que” is used instead. But when I’m using “cómo combinan…”, it is a declaration, and the second part is not conditional. So, it is also pondering if you used “como combinEn”, and she corrected with “que combinEn” instead of “cómo combinAn”. And both are slightly different ways of correcting the same phrase, but both have slightly different interpretations/meanings. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spanish-help-me-gusta-the-way-how-that-tus-zapatos-combinen-con-tu-chaqueta/689559/23 "2014-05-30T16:37:49Z")
**Leo Bloom** , **KarlGrenze** didn’t say “combiner” vs _combinar_, but _combinen_ vs _combinan_; that is, the subjunctive simple present of _combinar_ vs the indicative simple present of _combinar_. What difference a little vertical bar makes 😉 **KarlGrenze** , I understand what you mean about the subjunctive sounding more centered on the speaker. But, and I’m not sure I can explain this right, to me using the subjunctive in a case in which the sentence refers to the situation that’s actually taking place (her shoes and jacket actually do combine) keeps it from being an order; it would be an order if they didn’t, and then the _gustar_ would also be in the subjunctive (_me gustaría que tus zapatos y chaqueta combinaran_, which would be both an order and in 99.9999% of cases an impudence). ETA: jinx! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spanish-help-me-gusta-the-way-how-that-tus-zapatos-combinen-con-tu-chaqueta/689559.md?page=1)