EL SUBJUNTIVO It’s all in the mood!

Verbs show the action and they also show a tense and a mood.  The tense tells you the time of the action  Present, preterit, future, etc are tenses.  The mood tells the speaker’s attitude towards the action.  Indicative, commands and the subjunctive are moods.

The indicative moods tells it like it is:  Juan es mi novio. Juan is my boyfriend.  Ayer, fuimos al cine. Yesterday, we went to the movie.

A command tells someone to do something.  Vayan Uds. a la tienda.  You (pl.) go to the store.  Rafael, despiértese a las seis.  Rafael, get up at six.  Escuchen Uds. a la maestra siempre.  You(pl.) listen to the teacher always.

The subjunctive mood wishes, suggests and fantasizes about things.  I suggest that Juan drive.  Sugiero que Juan conduzca.  She wants her daughter to be a princess...  Ella quiere que su hija sea princesa...

The subjunctive is rarely used in English and sounds strange to those who are not highly educated. Huh?

INDICATIVE SUBJUNCTIVE  You are late.  I am sick.  Juan studies.  It is important that you be on time.  I wish I were not sick.  The teacher insists that he study.

In Spanish, the subjunctive is used a lot, and you need to use it  Sugiero que mires cuando andas en bote.  I suggest that you look when you ride in a boat.  Es importante que sepas adonde va el río.  It’s important that you know where the river goes.  Dudo que vayas a sobrevivir el accidente.  I doubt that you will survive the accident.

Both the Indicative mood and the Subjunctive mood are used in compound sentences which are connected by que.  La gente sabe que la verdad es la mejor. (indicative)  People know that the truth is best.  No creo que Brian venga a la fiesta a las ocho. (subjunctive)  I don’t believe that Brian will come to the party at eight. The mood that is used depends on the Main Clause.

The INDICATIVE MOOD is objective and used to describe facts, it states what is certain.  Estoy seguro que Juan va con nosotros.  I am certain that Juan is going with us.  Es cierto que la falda roja es de algodón.  There’s no doubt that the red skirt is made of cotton.  La maestra dice que hay un examen hoy.  The teacher says that there’s a test today.

The SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD is subjective, it expresses feelings, judgments and emotions about an action.  It is bad that we can’t go.  Es horrible que no podamos ir.  It is scandalous that she is wearing that dress.  Es escandaloso que ella lleve ese vestido.  It bothers me that he can’t come to the meeting.  Me molesta que él no pueda venir a la reunión.

Notice that the SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD consists of two clauses, joined together by “que” :  It is badthatwe can’t go. -Es horrible queno podamos ir.  It’s scandalous thatshe is wearing that dress. - Es escandaloso que ella lleve ese vestido.  It bothers methathe can’t come. - Me molesta queél no pueda venir Main ClauseDependent ClauseConj.

For the dependent clause to be subjunctive, the main clause must state the following:  Impose will.I want you to study tonight.  Necessity. It is necessary that you leave now.  Emotion.I hope that you find the money.  Doubt.I doubt that he knows the answer.  Possibility.It is possible that he is coming.

To form the Present Subjunctive tense :  Start with the present tense, yo form of the verb  Tener – Tengo  Remove the O – Teng  Add the opposite ending just like we did to make commands.

tengatengamos tengastengáis tengatengan Present Subjunctive of Tener

cuidecuidemos cuidescuidéis cuidecuiden Present Subjunctive of cuidar (to care for)