Subjuntivo - Spanish Subjunctive with Verbs and Impersonal Expressions

The Spanish subjunctive mood is usually considered the most difficult verb form for students, but hopefully this lesson will simplify matters for you. In Parts I and II, we learned about Spanish subjunctive conjugations. In Part III, we'll take a look at using the Spanish subjunctive with verbs and impersonal expressions. In Part IV, we'll examine the subjunctive with conjunctions and relative pronouns, and in Part V, we'll look at the subjunctive in adjective clauses.

The subjunctive is a verb mood, not a tense. Mood refers to the attitude of the speaker toward the action/condition of the verb - how likely/factual the statement is. The subjunctive mood is subjective; it expresses emotional, potential, and hypothetical attitudes about what is being expressed - things like will/wanting, emotion, doubt, possibility, necessity, judgment. The "normal" verb mood is called the indicative and is used for factual or definite statements about reality.

The Spanish subjunctive is often found in dependent clauses introduced by que (that). The subjects of the dependent and main clauses are usually different (if the subjects are the same, the infinitive can be used instead of the subjunctive).

Quiero que tu lo hagas.	I want you do it.
No es cierto que yo venga.	It's not certain that I will come (am coming).

The subjunctive is used when the main clause expresses subjectivity, as summarized below. (Some of the English translations may seem a little awkward: "that" is not always required in English, and we sometimes use a completely different structure which avoids the subjunctive altogether)

I. Verbs/expressions of will or want which express an order, a need, a piece of advice, or a desire:

aconsejar que	to advise
decir que	to tell
dejar que	to let, allow
desear que	to desire that
es hora que	it's time that
es importante que	it is important that
es necesario que	it is necessary that
esperar que	to hope that
es preciso que	it is necessary that
evitar que	to avoid
exigir que	to demand that
hacer falta que	to be necessary that
hacer que	to make, force
impedir que	to prevent
insistir en que	to insist that
invitar que	to invite
mandar que	to order
necesitar que	to need
pedir que	to ask (someone to do something)
permitir que	to permit
preferir que	to prefer that
prohibir que	to forbid
proponer que	to propose that
querer que	to want that
recomendar que	to recommend
rogar que	to request, beg
sugerir que	to suggest that

II. Verbs/expressions of emotion or feeling which indicate fear, happiness, anger, regret, surprise, or other sentiments or biases.

alegrarse de que	to be happy that
es bueno que	it's good that
es conveniente que	it's convenient that
es difícil que	it's hard
es extraño que	it's strange that
es fácil que	it's easy
es increíble que	it's incredible that
es interesante	it's interesting that
es inútil que	it's useless that (there's no point)
es justo que	it's fair that
es (una) lástima que	it's a pity that
es malo que	it's ( too) bad that
es mejor que	it's better that
es peor que	it's worse that
es preferible que	it's preferable that
es raro que	it's strange that
es triste que	it's sad that
es útil que	it's useful that
estar contento que	to be happy that
estar triste que	to be sad that
extrañarse que	to be amazed that
gustarse que	to like
más vale que	it's better that
sentir que	to regret, be sorry that
sorprenderse que	to be surprised that
temer que	to fear that
tener miedo que	to be afraid that

III. Verbs/expressions of doubt, possibility, opinion

aparecer que	to appear, seem that
buscar ... que*	to look for
detestar que	to hate
dudar que	to doubt
es dudoso que	it is doubtful that
es imposible que	it is impossible that
es improbable que	it is improbable that
es posible que	it is possible that
es probable que	it is probable that
negar que	to deny
no es cierto que	it is not certain that
no es claro que	it's not clear that
no es evidente que	it is not obvious that
no es obvio que	it is not obvious that
no es que	it's not that
no está seguro que	it is not certain that
no es verdad que	it is not true that
tal vez	perhaps

*Busco un libro que me interese (it may not exist = doubt)
Busco el libro que estoy leyendo (I know it exists = no doubt)

Note: the following verbs and expressions do not take the subjunctive when they are used in the affirmative, because they express facts which are considered certain. When negative or interrogatory, they require the subjunctive (Example: ¿Crees que él sea triste? Si, creo que es triste; No, no creo que sea triste):

conocer (alguien) que	to know (someone) that
creer que	to believe that
espérer que	to hope that
estar cierto que	to be certain that
estar seguro que	to be sure that
es cierto que	it is certain that
es claro que	it's clear that
es evidente que	it is obvious that
es seguro que	it is certain that
es una realidad	it's a fact that
es un hecho	it's a fact that
es verdad que	it is true that
pensar que	to think that
saber que	to know that

The verbs dudar (to doubt) and negar (to deny) take the subjunctive when they are affirmative, but not when they are negative.

Dudo que venga.	I doubt he'll come.
No dudo que viene.	I don't doubt that he'll come.

That's it for the Spanish subjunctive with verbs and impersonal expressions; time to move on to the subjunctive with conjunctions.  

©   Laura K. Lawless
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