Me llamo _________________________

Español 4 Temas Especiales __ __

Fecha: ___________________________
Gramática 4.1: Los verbos: El modo subjuntivo

LA PRESENTACIÓN Y EL USO.
The subjunctive is not a tense (which shows time of an event) but a mood (which shows perception of an event). The
indicative mood shows objective fact of an event, while the subjunctive shows subjective experience, perception, desire, feeling, and
uncertainty. The subjunctive exists in the Romance languages, and to a much lesser degree, it does exist in English too – it’s just not
marked as strongly. “I hope that it snows tomorrow” is unmarked, but “I prefer that John go to the store” (usually we say “John
goes”) and “If I were you, I wouldn’t do that” (usually it’s “I was”) are marked.

There are a few conditions that must exist when a sentence uses the subjunctive:
1. The sentence is complex, with two clauses (an independent / main clause, and the other is dependent / subordinate).
2. The two clauses are joined by “que.”
3. The two clauses have two different subjects.
4. The verb in the first clause is a “ W I D E ” verb.
Will / Volition “Quiero que ....”, etc.
Impersonal Expressions “Es posible que ....”, etc.
Doubt “Dudo que ....”, etc.
Emotions “Me alegro de que ....” , etc.

Will / Volition. These are verbs that express actions of the mind or the will / volition.
“Yo espero que ella venga.” = I hope / wish (that) she comes.
“Digo que ella venga.” = I tell her to come.
“Ojalá que ella venga.” = I hope (that) she comes.

 decir = to tell, order, command  hacer = to make, order, command  preferir = to prefer
 desear = to desire  insistir en = to insist  prohibir = to prohibit
 escribir = to write, order,  mandar = to order, command  querer = to want
command  ojalá que = I hope that  recomendar = to recommend
 esperar = to hope, wish  pedir = to ask (for)  rogar = to beg, implore
 exigir = to demand  permitir = to permit, allow  sugerir = to suggest
 etc.

(Note that some English sentences with certain verbs may have to be rearranged before changing it to Spanish. Don’t let
these kinds of situations trick you. The subjunctive is used, not an infinitive.)

I want her to come. / Yo le quiero venir.

I want her to come.  I want that she comes. = Yo quiero que ella venga.
I ask you to leave.  I ask that you leave. = Yo pido que tú salgas.

Impersonal Expressions. These are expressions that don’t necessarily mention a person in the first clause.
“Es posible que ella venga.” = It’s possible that she will come.
“Es necesario que ella venga.” = It’s necessary that she come.

 es importante  es increíble  parece mentira = it seems like a

 es (im)posible  es bueno lie
 es (im)probable  es mejor = it is better  parece raro = it seems strange
 es terrible  es necesario  es extraño = it is strange
 es maravilloso = It’s marvelous  es preferible  etc.
Doubt. These are expressions that express doubt or uncertainty.
“No es verdad que ella venga.” = It’s not true that she’ll be coming.
“No estoy seguro que ella venga.” = I’m not sure that she’s coming.
“Dudo que ella venga.” = I doubt she’ll be coming.
“Puede ser que ella venga.” = It could be that she’s coming.

 no ser cierto / claro / verdad =  puede ser = it could be

to not be certain / clear / true  dudar = to doubt
 no estar seguro = to not be sure  negar = to deny
 no saber = to not know  no pensar = to not think / believe
 no creer = to not believe / think  etc.
 no parecer = to not seem

Emotions. These are verbs that express feelings or emotional reactions.

“Me gusta que ella venga.” = I like that she is coming.
“Me pone triste que ella venga.” = It makes me sad that she’s coming.

 alegrarse (de) = to be happy  preocuparse = to get worried / preoccupied

 estar contento / triste = to be happy / sad  sentir = to feel
 entristecer = to be sad  doler (ue) = to hurt
 enojarse = to get mad / angry  ¡Qué bueno (lástima = etc.) ...! =
 (me) enoja = it angers (me) How good (What a shame / pity) …!
 (me) enfada = it angers (me)  lo siento = I’m sorry
 (me) encanta = (I) love  sorprenderse (de) = to get surprised
 (me) gusta = (I) like  temer = to be scared
 ponerse feliz / triste = to become happy / sad  tener miedo = to be scared
 etc.
Gramática 4.1

There are two more situations in which the subjunctive is used: with adjectival clauses and adverbial clauses.

Unknown Situations (Adjectival Clauses)

As you already know, adjectives are words that describe or modify a noun. It is possible for a whole phrase or even a clause
to add descriptive information to a noun, too. This is called an adjective clause. When the main clause of a sentence indicates that the
person or thing mentioned is outside of the speaker’s knowledge or experience, that noun may or may not really exist, the subjunctive
is used in the subordinate clause.
The conditions are similar to what you learned before, but note that there are some differences:
1. The sentence is complex, with two clauses (an independent / main clause, and the other is dependent / subordinate).
2. The two clauses are joined by “que” or maybe “donde” for places.
3. The two clauses have two different subjects (in fact, the subordinator is also the subject of the second clause, but don’t worry about
that for now).
4. The verb in the first clause could be any verb or situation (not necessarily a “WIDE” verb) that sets up an Unknown situation.

 buscar  haber  saber

 conocer  necesitar  etc.
 desear  querer

Oftentimes, if you see an indefinite article (“un, una, unos, unas”) in front of that noun in the first clause, it means that the
indefinite, unspecific noun is probably not known.

“Necesitas un coche que funcione bien.” = You need a car that works well (I don’t know if it really exists).
“Busco un lugar donde se vendan los coches japoneses.” = I’m looking for a place that sells Japanese cars
(there may not really be one in town).

Usually, when the direct object is a person, we use the personal “a” before it. But when the subjunctive is used in an
adjectival clause, the “a” is omitted.

“¿Conoces _ alguien que sepa arreglar los coches?” = Do you know anyone who knows how to fix cars? (the person may not exist.)

Indicative, not Subjunctive.

If the noun is indeed known or within the speaker’s experience, then the subjunctive is not needed, so the indicative is used in
the subordinate clause. Note that a definite article (“el, la, los, las”), not an indefinite article, may be used before the definite, specific,
known noun.
Also note that the personal “a” is used before a direct object that is a person.

“Busco el lugar donde se venden los coches japoneses.” = I’m looking for the place that sells Japanese cars (it exists).
“¿Conoces a la persona que sabe arreglar los coches?” = Do you know the person that/who knows how to fix cars?
(the person does exist.)
“Sí, lo conozco. Se llama Pedro.” = Yes, I know him. His name is Pedro (the person does exist; notice all the proofs that he exists:
“Yes,” “I know him,” and his name is “Pedro”!)
Interdependent Conditions (Adverbial Clauses)
As you already know, adverbs are words that modify a verb, adjective, or another adverb. Adverbs that modify verbs usually
answer the questions “where” (place), “when” (time), “why” (purpose), or “how” (manner, extent, condition). It is possible for a
whole phrase or even a clause to modify a verb, too. This is called an adverb clause. When the main clause of a sentence sets up a
condition, the subjunctive is used in the subordinate clause.

a.) When the main clause of a sentence create an interdependent condition – they show that the actions in the two clauses are
interdependent upon each other – the subjunctive is used in that subordinate clause. Some examples of such interdependent clauses
are seen when:
 something has not happened yet, and may or may not happen in the future;
 one event takes place, so will the other (if the first event even takes place!);
 one event will not take place unless the other does too (if the first event even takes place!);
 one event takes place so that another will take place.

The conditions are similar to what you learned before, but note that there are some differences:
1. The sentence has two clauses (an independent / main clause, and the other is dependent / subordinate).
2. The two clauses are joined by one of the “que” words given in the box below.
3. The two clauses have two different subjects.
4. The verb in the first clause could be any verb or situation (not necessarily a “WIDE” verb) that sets up a Certain Condition.

“Se lo doy después de que ella venga.” = I’ll give it to her after she comes.
“Lo creo cuando ella venga.” = I’ll believe it when she comes.
“Guárdalas hasta que ella venga.” = Keep them until she comes.
“La llevo conmigo para que* ella pueda venir.” = I’ll bring her with me so that she can come.
“Yo iré con tal de que* ella venga.” = I will go provided that she comes.
“Lo traigo en caso de que* ella venga.” = I’ll bring it in case she comes.

 a condición de que* =  como = as long as  excepto = except

on condition that  como si = as if  excepto que = unless
 a fin de que* = in order that  con tal de que* = provided that  hasta que = until
 a la vez que = at the same time as  cuando = when  mientras (que) = while
 a menos que* = unless  de manera que = so that  mientras no = as long as
 a poco de que = shortly after  de modo que = so that  para que* = so that, in order that
 al mismo tiempo que =  de tal manera que = so that,  puesto que = since
at the same time as in such a way that  si = if
 antes de que = before  de tal modo que = so that,  siempre que = as long as
 así que = so that, in such a way that  sin que* = without
in such a way that  después de que = after  tan pronto como = as soon as
 aunque = although, even though  en caso de que* = in case  ya que = since
 baja (la) condición de que =  en cuanto = as soon as  etc.
under the condition that  en vista de que =
 cada vez que = every time that in view of the fact that

b.) * When the two clauses have two different subjects, the subjunctive must be used. But when both clauses have the same
subject, usually the “que” is removed, and an infinitive follows the preposition.

“Ella no puede venir sin que yo sepa la dirección.” = She can’t come without my knowing the address.
“Ella no puede venir sin saber la dirección.” = She can’t come without (her) knowing the address.

c.) The phrase “como si” always uses the past subjunctive. When two simple clauses are joined by “si” and express an
improbable or false situation, the subjunctive is used. When two clauses are joined by “si” and express an improbable or false
situation, the past subjunctive is used in the “si” clause, and the conditional in the other clause.

“Ella se portaba como si fuera la Presidente. = She acted as if she were the President.
“No sé si ella venga.” = I don’t know if she’s coming.
“Si ella no viniera, yo no iría.” = If she were to come, I wouldn’t go