Debe haberse retrasado

John O.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Debe haberse retrasado

Hola Inma,

I am much more “comfortable” with the alternative “se debe haber retrasado.”  Is it not counterintuitive to add the reflexive pronoun to the verb haber? 

Invariably we never put anything between the two verbs when using the pretérito perfecto but in this case we do. Is there a particular explanation / logic?  I must be missing something!

Saludos. John


Asked 1 year ago
InmaNative Spanish expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer

Hola John 

In some structures where there is a perífrasis using a perfect infinitive (haber + past participle) like this one: "se debe haber retrasado" it's actually more common to find the pronoun after haber: debe haberse retrasado.

Another example could be for example: 

Espero haberlo encontrado mañana.

You won't probably see it with the pronoun at the front: Lo espero haber encontrado mañana. It sounds clumsy to say it like that.

Saludos

Debe haberse retrasado

Hola Inma,

I am much more “comfortable” with the alternative “se debe haber retrasado.”  Is it not counterintuitive to add the reflexive pronoun to the verb haber? 

Invariably we never put anything between the two verbs when using the pretérito perfecto but in this case we do. Is there a particular explanation / logic?  I must be missing something!

Saludos. John


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