B1 · Subjunctive · Part 2 of 4
El subjuntivo: cuándo se usa
Once the forms are there, the question is when. Learners are usually handed a list of eighty verbs; it is far more manageable as a handful of families, plus two situations where the same word takes either mood and the choice changes the meaning.
Takes the subjunctive
- Wanting: quiero que, prefiero que
- Emotion: me alegra que, me molesta que
- Doubt: dudo que, no creo que
- Denial: no es verdad que
- Impersonal opinion: es importante que, es raro que
- Purpose: para que
- Future time: cuando, en cuanto, hasta que
Stays in the indicative
- Certainty: sé que, es verdad que
- Belief: creo que, pienso que
- Reporting: dice que, me contó que
- Habit with cuando: cuando llego, siempre como
- Because: porque
The negative flip
Creer and pensar take the indicative, but their negatives take the subjunctive, because doubt has entered.
- Creo que viene.I think he is coming.
- No creo que venga.I do not think he is coming.
- Es verdad que trabaja aquí.It is true he works here.
- No es verdad que trabaje aquí.It is not true that he works here.
Cuando: habit or future
The same connector takes either mood. If it describes what usually happens, indicative. If it points at something not yet real, subjunctive.
- Cuando llego a casa, ceno.When I get home, I have dinner. · habit
- Cuando llegue a casa, cenaré.When I get home, I will have dinner. · not yet real
Emotion counts even when the fact is certain
Me alegra que hayas venido uses the subjunctive although you clearly did come. Reacting to a fact is not stating it.
- Me alegra que estés aquí.I am glad you are here.
- Es una pena que no puedas venir.It is a shame you cannot come.
The families, and what they have in common
Wanting, feeling, doubting, denying and judging all do the same thing: they take a fact and put a mind in front of it. That is the common thread. Reporting verbs, by contrast, hand the fact over untouched, so they keep the indicative — dice que viene, not dice que venga.
| Family | Examples | Second verb |
|---|---|---|
| Influence | querer, pedir, decir (order), prohibir | subjunctive |
| Emotion | alegrar, molestar, es una pena | subjunctive |
| Doubt / denial | dudar, no creer, no es verdad | subjunctive |
| Judgement | es importante, es raro, es mejor | subjunctive |
| Reporting / certainty | decir (report), saber, es evidente | indicative |
Decir does both
Decir reports with the indicative and orders with the subjunctive. The verb is identical; only the intention differs, and Spanish marks it with the mood.
- Dice que viene mañana.He says he is coming tomorrow. · reporting
- Dice que vengas mañana.He says you should come tomorrow. · an order
Connectors that always take it
Some connectors carry the mood inside them, so there is no decision to make.
- para que — so that
- antes de que — before
- sin que — without
- a menos que — unless
- con tal de que — as long as
- en caso de que — in case
Connectors of time: it depends
Cuando, en cuanto, hasta que and mientras take the indicative for something habitual or already real, and the subjunctive for something not yet real. This is the single most common source of hesitation at B1.
- Cuando llego a casa, ceno.When I get home, I have dinner. · habit
- Cuando llegue a casa, cenaré.When I get home, I will have dinner. · not yet
- Hasta que llegó, no comimos.We did not eat until he arrived. · it happened
- Hasta que llegue, no comemos.We are not eating until he arrives. · not yet
Ojalá
Borrowed from Arabic, and always followed by the subjunctive with no que. With the present subjunctive it is a live hope; with the imperfect subjunctive it is a wish about something unlikely.
- Ojalá venga.I hope he comes.
- Ojalá viniera.I wish he would come. · unlikely
Mistakes to avoid
No creo que tiene razón.
No creo que tenga razón.
Negated belief takes the subjunctive.
Cuando llegaré, te llamo.
Cuando llegue, te llamo.
Spanish never uses the future after cuando; it uses the subjunctive.
Es importante que estudiar.
Es importante que estudies.
Que introduces a conjugated verb, not an infinitive.
Try it
No creo que ___ razón.
Creo que ___ mañana.
Te llamo cuando ___ del trabajo.
Me alegra que ___ aquí.
Estudio para que mis padres ___ orgullosos.