The Subjunctive in Noun clauses (El subjuntivo en cláusulas nominativas) Espero que llegues pronto.

The Subjunctive in Noun Clauses A clause is a syntactic construction that contains a subject and predicate and forms part of a sentence or constitutes a whole simple sentence. A noun clause is a clause that, like a simple noun, can be used as the subject or direct object of a verb, or as the object of a preposition. El niño travieso causó escándalo. The mischievous child caused a scene. In the above sentence, “The mischievous child” is a simple noun subject. El hecho de que el niño gritaba causó escándalo. The fact that the child was shouting caused a scene. In this sentence, the entire clause “The fact that the child was shouting” functions as a subject.

The Subjunctive in Noun Clauses A clause is a syntactic construction that contains a subject and predicate and forms part of a sentence or constitutes a whole simple sentence. A noun clause is a clause that, like a simple noun, can be used as the subject or direct object of a verb, or as the object of a preposition. Quiero un coche nuevo. I want a new car. In the above sentence, “a new car” is a simple noun direct object. Quiero que mis padres me compren un coche nuevo. I want my parents to buy me a new car. In this sentence, the entire clause “my parents to buy me a new car” functions as a direct object.

The Subjunctive in Noun Clauses Often, noun clauses are also dependent clauses—they may depend on the main clause for meaning and structure. The noun clause has its own subject and verb and, in Spanish, is often connected to the main clause with que, as mentioned earlier. Quiero que el guía hable despacio. I want the guide to speak slowly. Nadia insiste en que Paco vaya al río con nosotros. Nadia insists that Paco go to the river with us. Esperamos que nuestro abuelo vaya a Cartagena. We hope that our grandfather will go to Cartagena. Juan quiere que yo me quede con él en la isla. Juan wants me to stay on the island with him.

The Subjunctive in Noun Clauses The subjunctive is used in the preceding dependent noun clauses, since the actions or states expressed have yet to occur and may not occur at all. The principle of cause could be applied to the sentences on the preceding slide. Quiero que el guía hable despacio. I want . . . We could think of wanting something as trying to cause it to happen. But merely wanting something doesn’t make it so. In these cases, the subjunctive is used in the subordinate clause to reflect uncertainty. Nadia insiste en que Paco vaya al río con nosotros. Nadia insists . . . Insisting is another way of trying to cause something to happen.

The Subjunctive in Noun Clauses The English equivalents of the Spanish subjunctive are often different in structure, since the use of the English subjunctive has diminished. Note that in the first and fourth English examples, the infinitive is used (to speak, to stay), in the second, the English present subjunctive (go), and in the third, the future (will go). Quiero que el guía hable despacio. I want the guide to speak slowly. Nadia insiste en que Paco vaya al río con nosotros. Nadia insists that Paco go to the river with us. Esperamos que nuestro abuelo vaya a Cartagena. We hope that our grandfather will go to Cartagena. Juan quiere que yo me quede con él en la isla. Juan wants me to stay on the island with him.

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