6.01 - La vida cotidiana en España - Estructuras
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6.01 La vida cotidiana en España
Watch these videos that talk about the subjunctive mood in Spanish. You
can select "Full screen" to view the video on your screen
Throughout your Spanish studies, you have learned to use various verb tenses. Now, you are going to learn about a different verb mood or mode. All of the verb tenses covered have been in the Indicative Mood. Now, you will learn about the Subjunctive Mood, which is used rarely in English, but is used often in Spanish.
In the indicative mood the action is stated and viewed as a fact. The action is viewed in a positive way and without any doubt or subjectivity. The speaker sees the action as certain.
Creo que Marcos quiere ir al ayuntamiento.
No dudo que el ciudadano desea cruzar la avenida.
Both of these statements are seen as certain.
Subjunctive mood
In the subjunctive mood the action expresses the speaker's attitudes, feelings, wishes, emotions, or doubts. The action is stated in an uncertain way and it is often subject to something or someone. It describes reality subjectively.
Examples
No creo que Marcos quiera ir al ayuntamiento.
Dudo que el ciudadano desee cruzar la avenida.
In both these sentences, the attitude of the speaker is of doubt or disbelief; therefore, it makes the sentences uncertain. Usually with the subjunctive mood you will find two subjects or subject pronouns in the sentence.
Indicative or subjunctive?
Here a few sentences for you to try to determine if they are indicative or subjunctive. Before you roll over the sentence to reveal the answer, think about what the sentence is telling you and what it expresses:
- Es obvio que ustedes van a a acer ejercicio.
- Es cierto que los peatones miran el semáforo antes de cruzar la calle.
- Quiero que el motociclista maneje más despacio.
- Estoy contento de que tú disfrutes de tu tiempo libre.
- Es seguro que el metro es un medio de transportación eficiente.
¿Acertaste? Yes, the first two sentences are indicative because there is no uncertainty or subjectivity to them. The third sentence is subjunctive because the idea that I want the motorist to do something, like slow down, is subject to the motorist actually slowing down.
In general, the indicative mood expresses an idea that is certain versus the subjunctive mood, which expresses an idea that is uncertain or subject to someone or something else making it happen. Watch the following video; you
can select "Full screen" to view the video on your screen.