Using the Subjunctive

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Using the Subjunctive

• Noun Clauses

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• The subjunctive tends to be a somewhat
  difficult concept for native speakers of English,
  yet it is used in Spanish all the time. For that
  reason, we tend to spend a lot of time teaching
  it once students reach the 2000 level. In fact,
  in some textbooks, the principal grammar lessons
  in the last third of the book involve the
  subjunctive.

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• So what IS the subjunctive? Its a mood. Verbs
  have moods. There are three to choose
  fromsubjunctive, indicative, and imperative.
• Commands are the imperative mood.
• Most other verbs are indicative. The very first
  tense you learned was present indicative. Then
  you learned preterit indicative and then
  imperfect indicative. If youve done the
  Subjunctive Formation slide show, youve
  learned the present subjunctive if not, thats
  where youre headed next. Mood does not mean
  tense. You can have present subjunctive or
  present indicative or present imperative.
• Tense means time. In fact, the Spanish word
  for tense is tiempowhich is also the word for
  time. Mood has to do with the way an action
  is viewed and doesnt have anything to do with
  time. 99 of the time, the subjunctive is used
  in a dependent clause, not the main clause. But
  what happens in the main clause can make the
  subjunctive necessary in the dependent clause.

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• We have a few examples of the subjunctive in
  English
• If I were you, Id study more.
• This is called a contrary-to-fact clause. Im
  NOT you, so if I were you is contrary to fact.
  Were is subjunctive. Normally, we say I was,
  not I were I was a student at UGA.
• If a meeting is over, to end it formally,
  someone says, I move that the meeting be
  adjourned. Be is subjunctive. Normally, we
  dont say, The meeting be adjourned. Here we
  use subjunctive because the person in the main
  clause is trying to get an action in the
  dependent clause accomplished. This is similar
  to one of the ways the subjunctive is used in
  Spanish.

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• Before we get into when we need the subjunctive
  in Spanish, lets do a brief review of clauses in
  English. Clause is a group of words with a
  subject and a verb. An independent clause can
  stand alone its a sentence
• Juan lives here.
• A dependent clause cannot stand alone it
  is dependent on another clause
• Juan lives here because it is close to campus.
• Because it is too close to campus cannot
  stand alone as a sentence. It is dependent on
  Juan lives here. Because is a subordinating
  conjunction it is the word that links the
  dependent and independent clauses.

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• A clause can function in one of three ways it
  can be a noun clause, an adjective clause, or an
  adverb clause
• I know that he is here.
• In this sentence, the clause functions as a
  noun. Consider the fact that you could say I
  know the truth. There, the word truth is the
  direct object. In this sentence, that he is
  here is the direct object.

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• Look at this sentence
• Juan knows the man that lives here.
• In this sentence, that lives here is an
  adjective clause. It modifies man, tells WHICH
  man.

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• Now look at this sentence
• Juan lives here because its close to campus.
• Remember that adverbs answer when, where, why,
  how, to what extent. Because its close to
  campus is an adverb clause because it answers
  the question why.

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• In this presentation, well be dealing with noun
  clauses only. In Spanish, noun clauses almost
  always begin with que or quien, and 9 times
  out of 10or moreits que. While dealing with
  the subjunctive in these slide shows, were going
  to deal only with noun clauses that begin with
  que, so remember if theres no que, you
  dont have a noun clause.

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• There are four reasons to use the subjunctive
• 1. If the person in the main clause is trying to
  get the person in the dependent clause to do
  something or is trying to keep him from doing
  something, you need the subjunctive in the
  dependent clause (after the que)
• He suggests that you eat. -- Sugiere que comas.
• He recommends that you eat. Recomienda que
  comas.
• Theres a difference between the way this idea
  is usually expressed in English and Spanish. The
  two sentences above are pretty much the same in
  the two languages, although you have to remember
  to use the subjunctive in Spanish. However . . .

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• . . . in most sentences where one person is
  trying do get another to do something, the
  sentence structures are different
• He wants you to eat. Quiere que comas.
• Literally, He wants that you eat.
• He asks you to eat. Te pide que comas.
• Literally, He asks that you eat.
• He prohibits you from eating. Prohíbe que
  comas.
• Literally, He prohibits that you eat.
• He permits you to eat. Permite que comas.
• Literally, He permits that you eat.
• What you need to see here is that one person is
  trying to get another person to do (or not do)
  something. It actually makes more sense in
  Spanish than in English. Whats the direct
  object in He wants you to eat? You? Nohe
  doesnt want YOU. To eat? Nohe doesnt want
  TO EAT. He is doing the wanting, and you are
  doing the eating, so both verbs are conjugated in
  Spanish.

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• 2. If theres emotion in the main clause, you
  need the subjunctive in the dependent clause.
• Juan is glad that you eat. Juan se alegra de
  que comas.
• Juan is afraid that you eat. Juan tiene miedo
  de que comas.
• Juan likes that you eat. -- A Juan le gusta que
  comas.
• It surprises Juan that you eat. A Juan le
  sorprende que comas.
• Important note
• You MUST have que in all the clauses. It
  surprises Juan THAT you eat, It surprises Juan
  IF you eat, and It surprises Juan BECAUSE you
  eat may sound like they mean the same thing, but
  the structures are different. That you eat is
  a noun clause IF you eat and BECAUSE you eat
  are adverb clauses, and they follow an entirely
  different set of rules concerning the
  subjunctive. Si NEVER gets the present
  subjunctive, no matter whats in the indicative
  clause, and porque rarely gets the subjunctive.

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• 3. If doubt or denial is expressed in the main
  clause, you need the subjunctive in the
  dependent clause.
• Juan doubts that you eat. Juan duda que comas.
• Juan denies that you eat. Juan niega que
  comas.
• Juan doesnt believe that you eat. Juan no
  cree que comas.
• It isnt certain that you eat. No es cierto
  que comas.
• It isnt true that you eat. No es verdad que
  comas.
• It is doubtful that you eat. Es dudoso que
  comas.
• Conversely, if you take away doubt (express
  certainty or belief), you use the indicative. So
  if you say the opposite of each of the above
  sentences, you use the indicative in the
  dependent clause.
• Juan doesnt doubt that you eat. Juan no duda
  que comes.
• Juan doesnt deny that you eat. Juan no niega
  que comes.
• Juan believes that you eat. Juan cree que
  comes.
• It is certain that you eat. Es cierto que
  comes.
• It is true that you eat. Es verdad que comes.
• It isnt doubtful that you eat. No es dudoso
  que comes.

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• 4. When you have (no) es adjective que, you
  need the subjunctive after the que.
• Its (not) necessary that you eat. (No) Es
  necesario que comas.
• Its (not) important that you eat. (No) Es
  importante que comas.
• Its (not) good that you eat. (No) Es bueno que
  comas.
• Its (not) possible that you eat. (No) Es
  posible que comas.
• Theres an important exception to this rule.
  Remember rule 3, where you use subjunctive if
  you have doubt or denial and indicative if you
  express certainty or belief? Well, if your es
  adjective que expresses certainty or belief,
  you use indicative
• Its certain that you eat. Es cierto que comes.
• Its true that you eat. Es verdad que comes.
• It isnt doubtful that you eat. No es dudoso
  que comes.

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• Click here to go to a practice exercise.