Subjunctive III: Usage 101

Introduction/Review

Please review Subjunctive III: General and Subjunctive III: Formation. This section will go over the most common and easy-to-understand uses of the subjunctive mood, as well as explain the general idea and reason behind the Spanish subjunctive.

Desires and Demands

When you want — or demand — for something to happen, you are expressing your own attitude about what you want to go down, which means — you guessed it — you’ll probably need the subjunctive. Here is an example of a desire:

Yo quiero que tú estudies.

This sentence probably looks really confusing, so let’s tear it apart. First, take a look at the first subject and verb: yo quiero. The main verb will be in the indicative mood. Next, we see the word que. Que is a huge hint that we might need the subjunctive in the next clause. However, you need to be careful and really think about what the sentence is saying, because just having que there is not a guarantee that the subjunctive should follow. The second part of the sentence expresses what I want to happen. Because I am expressing my attitude towards the action of “you studying,” the second verb is in the subjunctive.

A super-important thing to note: the two clauses (the main clause in the indicative and the dependent clause in the subjunctive) have to have different subjects in order to correctly use the subjunctive. It’s not good Spanish to say Yo quiero que yo estudie (I want me to study). Instead, you just use the infinitive: Yo quiero estudiar (I want to study).

Examples:

Mi mamá prohibe que yo vaya a la fiesta. (My mom prohibits that I go to the party.)

La profesora insiste que los estudiantes hablen solo en español. (The teacher insists that the students speak only in Spanish.)

Tú quieres que la universidad te admita. (You want the university to admit you.)

Common verbs that might trigger the subjunctive when used with que (there are tons, but here are some common ones):

querer que (to want)
prohibir que (to prohibit)
insistir que (to insist)
mandar que (to order)
desear que (to desire)
esperar que (to hope, to wish)

Emotions and Feelings

When an action makes you feel a certain way and you express that sentiment, you also need the subjunctive.

Examples (notice the verbs and how they are used):

Me molesta que ella no esté lista para la presentación. (It annoys me that she is not ready for the presentation.)

Me alegro de que tú vengas a la celebración. (I am happy that you are coming to the celebration.)

Me alegra que mis padres compren un perro. (It makes me happy that my parents are buying a dog.)

¿Te sorprendes de que recibas una mala nota en el examen? (Are you surprised that you receives a bad grade on the test?)

Mi mamá tiene miedo de que mi hermano fracase la clase de ingles. (My mom is afraid of my brother failing English class.)

Did you notice something about examples two and three? The verb, alegrar (to make happy, to please), is the same, but in one, the conjugation is me alegro, and in the other, me alegra. In example two, the verb is used reflexively: “I am happy that…” In example three, the verb is used like gustar: the fact of my parents buying a dog pleases me. Therefore, the conjugation is me alegra. A hint on how to decide when to use which: if followed by just que the verb is used like gustar. If followed by de que, it is used reflexively. Here are some other verbs like this:

entristecer(se) (to sadden)

sorprender(se) (to surprise)

Doubt

This is a big one: expressing doubt or uncertainty about something. It is also a little bit tricky, but don’t worry. We’ll take it slowly.

First, let’s look at some verbs that indicate certainty and some that indicate doubt.

Can you guess which category requires the subjunctive in the dependent clause? Those verbs that indicate doubt.

Examples:

Estoy segura de que mi hermano viene a la fiesta. No estoy segura de que mi hermana venga. (I am sure that my brother is coming to the party. I am not sure that my sister is coming.)

Ella piensa que la fiesta es aburrida. Ella no piensa que sea divertida. (She thinks that the party is boring. She does not think it’s fun.)

Mi hermano cree que ella está loca. Él no cree que sea posible no divertirse en una fiesta. (My brother believes she is crazy. He doesn’t think it’s possible to not have fun at a party.)

No dudo que mi hermano se divierta, pero dudo que mi hermana goce de la celebración. (I don’t doubt that my brother has fun, but I doubt that my sister enjoys the celebration.)