Most Spanish learners fall into two groups: those excited to learn the subjunctive mood and those who fear it, either because they think it’s impossible to understand or because it seems simply too strange.
Regardless of the group they belong to, most learners seem to understand the subjunctive as expressing "unreal" actions. For example:
Espero que tengas un feliz día.
(The day hasn’t ended, so having a good day isn’t something that’s happening—it’s unreal.)
This is a fairly simplistic explanation that can undoubtedly be useful for taking the first steps on the topic. However, it’s not the best explanation for a dedicated Spanish student. Very soon, especially when studying the imperfect subjunctive, students will realize that real actions can also be expressed with this conjugation. For example:
Me gusta que mi esposo me regale flores. Siempre me las regala cuando estamos de aniversario.
(I like it when my husband gives me flowers. He always gives them to me on our anniversary.)
If this is a real situation, then why is subjunctive necessary?
Keep reading to learn the two main reasons why we need it.
1. It's not a statement
This is the subjunctive’s primary role: to express non-declarative sentences. To understand this, we first need to know what a declarative sentence is. The Real Academia Española defines it as a sentence “that expresses a judgment affirming or denying some state of affairs. […] When declarative sentences are used as independent statements, it is understood that the speaker commits to the truthfulness of what is expressed in them, whether affirming or denying it.”
Ideas expressed with the subjunctive lack this characteristic. This mood, in fact, is characterized by not expressing anything in itself—every action expressed with the subjunctive lacks meaning. That’s why it depends on an indicative clause to gain context, even when it seems like the subjunctive is used alone. In most cases, this is due to the omission of certain verbs, either because they’re obvious or unnecessary.
Let’s look at some examples:
No creo que Laura vaya a llegar tarde.
(I don’t think Laura is going to be late.)
If we remove the indicative part of the sentence (no creo), we’re left with Laura va a llegar tarde (Laura is going to be late). The problem is that I’m not saying that; in fact, I want to express the opposite. Therefore, to ensure this section doesn’t contradict my statement, I must use the subjunctive to avoid attributing unintended meaning.
Another example:
Me parecía complicado que el niño entendiera de lo que estaba hablando.
(It seemed complicated to me that the child understood what I was talking about.)
Here, I’m not intending to say whether the child understood or not. What I want to express is that it seemed complicated if he did. If my message were about whether he understood, I’d state it directly without adding my personal evaluation.
This is precisely why the subjunctive shares its root with the word subjective. It’s almost always tied to a personal evaluation: I want that, I’d like that, it’s unnecessary that, they don’t believe that, and so on.
Now consider these sentences:
Mi esposo me regala flores.
(My husband give me flowers)
It’s a statement.
Mi esposo no me regala flores.
(My husband doesn't give me flowers)
It’s a negation.
Me gusta que mi esposo me regale flores.
(I like my husband to give me flowers)
We know I like it, but we don’t know if he does it or not.
No me gusta que mi esposo me regale flores.
(I don't like my husband to give me flowers)
We know I don’t like it, but we still don’t know if he does it or not.
Subjunctive sentences aren’t affected by negation because I’m neither affirming nor denying anything about the action in that conjugation. Let’s say my husband does give me flowers, I still need the subjunctive because my communicative intent isn’t to inform whether he does or doesn’t; what I want to express is whether I like or dislike him doing it.
2. It's not relevant information: aunque
Sometimes, the subjunctive is necessary when the information you provide is completely irrelevant. This is the case with concessive clauses. For example:
Aunque me llames, no voy a contestarte.
(Even if you call me, I’m not going to answer.)
What I mean is that it doesn’t matter if you call me; it won’t change the outcome.
Yo la voy a querer siempre aunque ella no me quiera a mí.
(I’ll always love her even if she doesn’t love me back.)
It doesn’t matter to me if she loves me or not; my feelings won’t change.
However, it’s also possible to use aunque with the indicative when the statement is informative. For example:
Aunque me levanto temprano, nunca me alcanza el tiempo.
(Although I get up early, I never have enough time.)
But don’t be discouraged. In this case, the difference compared to English is very clear and helpful. If we use aunque + indicative in Spanish, it translates as "although," but if we use aunque + subjunctive, the meaning is "even if." Let’s see:
Aunque me levanto temprano, nunca me alcanza el tiempo.
(Although I get up early, I never have enough time.)
Aunque me levante temprano, nunca me alcanza el tiempo.
(Even if I get up early, I never have enough time.)
I hope this helps you better understand the subjunctive if you’re studying it. But if you haven’t reached that point yet, I promise it’s not as difficult as it sounds—it’s just a matter of practice.
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See you next time!