The subjunctive mood can be scary but there’s no need to let it boggle your brain. You’ll probably hear people say… “Oh no, it’s the subjunctive… nightmare” but actually, if you can be happy with 90% success rate when using it then you’ll have it in no time. The final 10% will follow in time!
So, here’s a simple overview of what the subjunctive is and you’ll find more info as you read on.
What you will have learnt, when you first started learning Spanish, is what we call the Indicative. It’s not a tense. People often call the Indicative and the Subjunctive ‘moods’ but in all honesty, it’s really hard to give it a name that makes true sense, it is just a way of speaking. Therefore, it can be useful to consider the Indicative as a parent and all the tenses you have learnt so far (present, future, past etc) are the kids. Let’s just say the Indicative is the ‘mum’ for now.
When it comes to the Subjunctive, imagine ‘dad’ coming along and flipping a switch so the kids all behave differently. This is what the subjunctive does… It flips a switch on (or triggers a change in) how you now need to conjugate (form) these verbs.
Why? You might ask! We are doing just fine forming the tenses we already use. Why introduce a new way of writing/saying them when ultimately the words are the same? Read on to find out why.
Why have the subjunctive if the indicative does the job?
Well part of the reason for having the subjunctive (this second parent that comes along and tells the kids (or tenses) to behave differently) is to get across an element of uncertainty.
For example, if you want to say ‘I think the dog needs a bath.’ you would use Indicative because you DO think this… you are fairly sure of what you are saying.
If you said something like, ‘I doubt the dog needs a bath’ you would use Subjunctive because you are NOT SURE of the fact.
Now if there is one piece of advice I can give you to hammer into your brain… uncertainty is ONE of the reasons to use the subjunctive but it doesn’t mean you will always use the subjunctive when there is uncertainly.
You actually need a subjunctive TRIGGER (our imaginary dad) to flip the switch and trigger the tense (kid) to change its behaviour. The trigger is usually the way we say or write a particular phrase, not just the meaning (possible uncertainty) behind it.
If there is no trigger you DON’T use the subjunctive.
You can spend hours looking for doubt in a sentence and thinking, do I need to use subjunctive or not? I think what I’m saying shows doubt but I’m not sure. Trust me… you can find doubt in almost everything you say if you really want to, but unless you are using a subjunctive trigger you do not need to use the subjunctive… just use the indicative that you are used to (do what mum says).
So now you need to know the Subjunctive Triggers! Keep reading to find out about the triggers.
Subjunctive Triggers
As I mentioned previously, subjunctive triggers are often linked to doubt but NOT always, so try not to fixate on doubt… fixate on learning the triggers, only some of which are to do with doubt.
It’s pretty much impossible to learn all the triggers because there are so many. However, if you learn a few and more importantly you learn why they are triggers, when you come across a new phrase, most of the time you will be able to decide whether is works as a subjunctive trigger or not.
Many of these triggers will look like verbs and phrases that you have used many times in the past, and you will wonder why you now have to use them differently.
For example: Me gusta… /Es importante…/ Espero…
Keep in mind what I said earlier… it’s the way we say or write a particular phrase that causes it to be a subjunctive trigger. Therefore, so far, when you have used these familiar verbs and phrases, the structure that you used was not a subjunctive trigger.
Quite typically, these familiar phrases will have been followed by the infinitive and you will have used them to talk solely about one person. I.e:
- Espero viajar por el mundo. (I hope to travel the world.)
- Me gusta jugar al fútbol. (I like to play football.)
- Es importante estudiar mucho. (It is important to study a lot.)
Each of these phrases are followed by an infinitive because there is no change in person. For example, I hope to travel (I hope for myself to travel, not for anyone else.)
Once you look at these triggers you will notice that they are not followed by an infinitive, in fact they are followed by the word ‘that‘ (que). This is because they are often used to talk about what someone wants/hopes/demands etc for someone else. I.e:
- Espero que tú viajes por el mundo. (I hope that you travel the world.)
- Me gusta que vosotros jugáis al fútbol. (I like that you lot play football.)
- Es importante que ellos estudien mucho. (It is important that they study a lot.)
So now you know that many of the subjunctive triggers will look familiar but are not used exactly as you already know them, let’s learn a few from each group:
Here we go…
| Group | Triggers | Examples |
| Doubt/disbelief/uncertainty (You are basically unsure that something is the case) | I don’t think that… (No pienso que…) I doubt that … (Dudo que…) I don’t believe that … (No creo que…) | No pienso que sea verdad. Dudo que sea verdad No creo que sea verdad. |
| Hope/desire/demands (You basically want that something happens) | I hope that… (Espero que…) I want that… (Quiero que…) I demand that… (Exijo que…) I beg that… (Ruego que…) | Espero que me ayudes. Quiero que me ayudes. Te exijo que me ayudes. Te ruego que me ayudes. |
| Opinions and personal reactions to something when using ‘that‘. | I like that… (Me gusta que…) I hate that… (Odio que…) I find it sad that… (Lo encuentro triste que…) | Me gusta que vivas lejos. Odio que vivas lejos. Lo encuentro triste que vivas lejos. |
| The structure ‘it is _______ that‘. (EXCEPT which showing certainty) It could be used in many ways (for opinions, suggestions, obligations) but ultimately it is the structure that is the trigger so just remember that. As noted above, if the structure shows certainty (i.e. It is true that/ it is certain that) it would not be subjunctive. | It’s stupid that… (Es estúpido que…) It’s advisable that... (Es aconsejable que…) It’s necessary that… (Es necesario que…) | Es estúpido que vayas al médico. Es aconsejable que vayas al médico. Es necesario que vayas al médico. |
Hypothesis/ possibility + that. These few are weird because they seem to go against the idea of doubt but this is fine! Remember… it’s not always about doubt! They are just triggers so just learn them and use them with the subjunctive. | It is possible that… (Es posible que…) It is likely that … (Es probable que…) It might be that … (Puede ser que…) | Es posible que tenga tiempo. Es probable que tenga tiempo. Puede ser que tenga tiempo. |
| Uncertainty of how you perceive something + that The final group is one that most people forget, so don’t worry… you’ll pick them up over time and to be honest you won’t say them as much anyway. These are phrases used to say ‘I’m not…./ I don’t…‘ and they give the impression that you are not 100% sure about how true something is but at the same time you can’t be sure it’s false. | I don’t see that… (No veo que…) I’m not saying that… (No digo que…) I can’t tell that… (No noto que…) I don’t remember that… (No me acuerdo de que…) | No veo que este triste. No digo que este triste. No noto que este triste. No me acuerdo de que estuviera triste. |
As previously mentioned, the main character to all of these is….QUE. However, there are some triggers that don’t have QUE and we will deal with these further along but for now you can see QUE is a major player.
However, it doesn’t mean that every time you see QUE you need to use the subjunctive. You still need the other elements in the phrase to trigger it… I.e. I doubt that…. or I want that… or I need that… It is good that…
For each of these trigger groups (apart from the last in the table) there is a huge list of similar triggers, but if you get to grips with these, you will often get a feeling when a new one comes along and that will help you decide if it is a subjunctive trigger.
You probably wonder how you have gone so long without using the subjunctive!
Well… as mentioned earlier, you will have used a lot of these verbs without the ‘que’. For example:
I hope to visit. (Espero visitar) (Infinitive)
I hope that you visit. (Espero que visites) (Subjunctive)
Remember, when you hope or want something for yourself you just need the infinitive (i.e. I hope to visit). However, when you hope or want something for or from someone else, you need to say ‘I hope that you…’ and this will require the que. This triggers the subjunctive.
So what about, ‘I want you to visit’? It has an infinitive in English, so I shouldn’t need the ‘que‘. Right?
Well, actually you do need the ‘que’!
In English we say, ‘I want you to visit.’ However, in Spanish, you ALWAYS say, ‘I want that you visit’, ‘I want that you tell me’, ‘ I demand that you give me’. Therefore, you need the ‘que’ structure instead of the infinitive.
This can make it quite tricky because a word-for-word translation is so tempting, especially when you first get started learning Spanish. It would be very easy to translate ‘I want you to come‘ as ‘Quiero tú venir. However, it would have to be ‘Quiero que tú vengas‘ (I want that you come.) It will take a while to avoid the direct translation, but if you get into the habit of thinking in ‘cave man’ English (when you want something of/for/from someone else) then you’ll soon get into the habit of using the correct Spanish.
In conclusion
Learning the triggers is just one element of the subjunctive, but in my opinion it is the most important, otherwise when will you know to use it?
If you want to have a go at spotting these subjunctive triggers, head over to Simple Spanish Tips, where you’ll find various interactive practice activities to help you spot the triggers!
Just remember that when trying to decide which phrases are subjunctive triggers, keep these tips in mind:
1. It is NOT the ‘que’ that makes a phrase a subjunctive trigger… Subjunctive triggers will usually involve a ‘que’ but not every phrase with a ‘que’ is subjunctive’.
i.e.
No pienso que…(I don’t think that…) = Subjunctive (This is a trigger because there is clear doubt.)
Pienso que… (I think that…) = Indicative (This is NOT a trigger because there isn’t clear doubt.)
2. if the original person wants to do something or wants something for themselves then you can just use an infinitive and it is NOT and subjunctive trigger.
i.e.
We hope to finish early. (Esperamos terminar temprano) = Infinitive (This is NOT a trigger because there no change of person.)
We hope that you finish early (Esperamos que termines temprano) = Subjunctive (This is a trigger because there is a change of person.)
Don’t forget…
Once you know the triggers, you’ll need to know how to form the subjunctive. Take a look at how to form the present subjunctive tense in order to get started. Also, if you head to Simple Spanish Tips, you’ll find more interactive practice activities to help you practise the subjunctive conjugations.
Something to keep in mind for later
At the moment we are looking at triggers for the Subjunctive mood in the Present Tense. This does also apply to the past tense and we call this the Imperfect Subjunctive. Don’t worry about that for now. Just focus on learning when to use the subjunctive in the present tense (the triggers) and then move onto learning about how to form the Present Subjunctive.
Once you are really confident in using the Subjunctive in the Present Tense, then move onto the Past Tense (Imperfect Subjunctive) but believe me… there is no rush to get to this stage. Your time will be much better served learning the Present Subjunctive REALLY WELL and being super confident before adding the past to the mix. If not, there is a good chance you will confuse yourself and undo all your good work.
Remember… when it comes to the subjunctive, the key to success is… ‘poco a poco’ (bit by bit)!
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