The Subjunctive with Doubt, Disbelief or Denial 13.2

13.2 Subjunctive with verbs of doubt or denial Whenever a sentence express doubt or denial in the main clause, the subjunctive will be used the subordinate clause because it implies uncertainty. However, if a sentence express certainty in the main clause, the indicative will also be used in the subordinate clause Doubt / Denial = Subjunctive No es cierto que vengan muchas personas a la fiesta Certainty = Indicative Es cierto que vienen muchas personas a la fiesta.

Expressions of doubt *Dudar To doubt *Negar (e-ie) To deny *No creer / pensar To not believe / think *No estar seguro/a de To not be sure *No es cierto To not be certain *No es verdad To not be true *No es obvio It is obvious Es (im)posible To be (im)possible Es (im)probable To be (im)probable

Important notice The following verbs in their opposite form represent certainty and are followed by the indicative: SUBJUNCTIVE INDICATIVE *Dudar No dudar *Negar (e-ie) No negar (e-ie) *No creer Creer *No estar seguro/a de Estar seguro/a de *No es cierto Es cierto que *No es verdad Es verdad que

Wrap your mind around it If you think or believe it is certain, so PENSAR and CREER in the affirmative form are followed by the Indicative. Pienso que es una buena idea ir al cine el Viernes. Expressions involving possibility or probability are always uncertain, so (No) es (im)posible and (No) es (im)probable are followed by the Subjunctive. Es imposible que yo reciba un coche de Navidad.