Capítulo 8: gramática Repaso…… El subjuntivo con verbos y frases de emoción, opinión y recomendación

What you already know about the subjunctive mood It’s not a tense, i.e. does not refer to time, rather it is a mood. You have learned the present tense of the subjunctive. The present subjunctive is used only in special cases.

When to use the subjunctive mood When you have a sentence made up of two phrases, joined together by que. When the subject of the first phrase is different from the subject of the second phrase. When in the first phrase there is a ‘key’ verb or phrase to provoke the use of the subjunctive.

When to use the subjunctive mood So far we’ve seen verbs of volition or persuasion those verbs where someone is imposing their will on someone or something else recomendar, querer, preferir, prohibir, insistir en que, … Juan recomienda que nosotros vayamos de vacaciones este mes. In the sentence above: What is the subjunctive form used? What is the verb that this form comes from? What are the three reasons why the subjunctive form is used in this sentence?

More instances to use the subjunctive In addition to verbs of volition, the subjunctive is also used with verbs that express an emotion or some kind of an opinion. alegrarse (de) to be glad (about) esperar to hope gustar to be pleasing to molestar to bother preocuparse (de) to be worried (about) quejarse (de) to complain (about) sentir (ie) to be sorry sorprender to surprise tener miedo (de) to be afraid (of)

Subjunctive with verbs of emotion Nos alegramos de que las vacaciones vengan pronto. La profesora espera que todos sus estudiantes lean esta presentación. A la profesora no le gusta que sus estudiantes no hagan sus tareas. Los estudiantes se preocupan de que la profesora les dé una prueba muy difícil. Los estudiantes se quejan de que la profesora les asigne mucha tarea. La profe siente que sus estudiantes no puedan ir a muchas fiestas. A la profe le sorprende que sus estudiantes hablen tan bien el español. Todos nosotros tenemos miedo de que no haya tanto tiempo para las vacaciones.

More contexts to use the subjunctive: Impersonal expressions Following are some common impersonal expressions that may require the use of the subjunctive. es preferible que it’s preferable (that) es bueno /malo que it’s good/bad (that) es importante it’s important (that) es (im)posible it’s impossible (that) es lógico it’s logical (that) es mejor it’s better (that) es necesario it’s necessary (that) es ridículo it’s ridiculous (that) es una lástima it’s a shame (that)

Mas…. We don’t use subjunctive after those expressions that express truth……. es cierto que… Es verdad que… Es obvio que…. Es evidente que…

More contexts to use the subjunctive: Impersonal expressions Notice that these impersonal expressions carry special meanings, namely volition or emotion. Consider the following: Recomiendo que Juan visite a sus padres. Es importante que Juan visite a sus padres Notice that while using different words, each of the above sentences express essentially the same meaning (volition): that someone wants Juan to visit his parents. The difference is that in the first case, I am specifically stating that I recommend that Juan visit his parents, and in the second case, I don’t ‘own’ that recommendation. I just state that “it’s important that…”

More contexts to use the subjunctive: Impersonal expressions When you consider the impersonal expressions presented, you will notice that each expresses either volition/persuasion or emotion/opinion. Write each of the following expressions on your paper and next to each write [V] if its meaning represents volition/persuasion or [E] if it expresses an emotion/opinion. es preferible que es bueno /malo que es importante que es (im)posible que es lógico que es mejor que es necesario que es ridículo que es una lástima que

More contexts to use the subjunctive: Impersonal expressions The rules about when to use impersonal expressions with the subjunctive are then the same as those that you have already learned for other verbs. There must be a complex sentence made of two parts The impersonal expression must express one of the key meanings to trigger the subjunctive: volition/persuasion, or emotion/opinion es bueno que, es necesario que, es importante que… The sentence must have two parts: an impersonal expression + a second phrase with a subject and a conjugated verb and both parts must be linked by a conjunction, i.e. que Es importante que nosotros nos divirtamos en clase.

When not to use the subjunctive with impersonal expressions: If the conditions for subjunctive are not met Es importante tomar las vacaciones cada año. Here we use the expression + the verb tomar in the infinitive because there is no explicit subject for this verb. The translation is: It’s important to take a vacation each year. The sentence does not specify that you, me, we, or they should take a vacation. Since we do not have a specific subject for the verb tomar, we do not have a complex sentence, we do not need the conjunction que and we therefore do not use the subjunctive. The above example contrasts with the following: Es importante que Juan tome las vacaciones cada año. Here we do have a subjecto for the verb tomar. This sentence does not state that it is generally important for anyone to take a vacation, but rather it states that it is important that specifically Juan take the vacation.

One more context for the subjunctive There is another phrase that expresses a desire with which we use the subjunctive Ojalá que It is an idiom originally from Arabic Oh Allah (may God grant) Translates to English as: I/we hope Let’s hope If only

One more context for the subjunctive The subjunctive is always used with Ojalá Ojalá que no haya clases mañana. Ojalá que haga buen tiempo mañana. Ojalá que mis padres no me visiten este fin de semana.

¡Manos a la obra! Translate the sentences on the next slide into Spanish. You must decide if the sentence requires the subjunctive or not, so take a moment to recall the rules for using the subjunctive.

Translate into Spanish: We are worried that San Marcos has too much congestion. It’s necessary to grow more trees. They complain that there is no public transportation in San Marcos. It’s logical that Miguel wants to move to the country. Let’s hope that we lead a peaceful life. I don’t like traffic. It bothers us that San Diego is a metropolis. I’m sorry that we can’t control the overpopulation.