The subjunctive

The subjunctive is a mood, not a tense: it marks a verb as wished for, doubted or not yet real, rather than stated as fact. The easiest place to start is wishes. When one person wants, hopes or wishes that someone else does something, the second verb goes into the present subjunctive.

• Quiero que vengas. I want you to come.

• Espero que te guste. I hope you like it.

• Ojalá no llueva. I hope it doesn't rain / if only it doesn't rain.

The English trap is "I want you to come": English uses an infinitive, so learners write quiero tú venir. Spanish needs que plus a new subject in the subjunctive. If the subject stays the same, keep the infinitive: quiero venir (I want to come), espero llegar a tiempo (I hope to arrive on time).

Ojalá comes from Arabic and means roughly "God willing". It never changes form and always takes the subjunctive, with or without que: ojalá (que) tengas razón.

To decide, ask two questions: is this a wish rather than a fact, and does the second verb have a different subject? Two yeses mean que + subjunctive.

Advice works like wishes. When someone recommends, suggests, advises or asks that another person do something, the action they push for goes into the subjunctive, because it hasn't happened and may never happen.

• Te recomiendo que descanses. I recommend that you rest.

• Sugiero que lo hablemos mañana. I suggest we talk about it tomorrow.

• Le pido que me llame. I'm asking her to call me.

Impersonal expressions of necessity or evaluation do the same: es importante que, es necesario que, es mejor que, hace falta que. Es importante que los niños duerman bien.

The English trap is again the infinitive: "It's important for the kids to sleep", "I asked him to wait". In Spanish, as soon as the sentence names who should act, you need que + subjunctive. Without a named person, the infinitive is fine: es importante dormir bien is a general truth about everybody.

Recomendar, aconsejar and sugerir also allow an infinitive when the advised person is the indirect object (te recomiendo descansar), but pedir and decir (as an order) do not: le digo que espere, never le digo esperar. When in doubt, que + subjunctive is always correct.

English says "when you arrive" with a present tense even though the arrival is in the future. Spanish is more precise: if the time clause points to something that hasn't happened yet, it takes the subjunctive.

• Llámame cuando llegues. Call me when you arrive.

• En cuanto termine, te ayudo. As soon as I finish, I'll help you.

• Tan pronto como abran, entramos. As soon as they open, we'll go in.

If the clause describes a habit or something that already happened, it is a fact, so it takes the indicative:

• Cuando llego a casa, me ducho. When I get home, I shower. (every day)

• Cuando llegué, ya se habían ido. When I arrived, they had left.

The trap is copying English and writing cuando llegas, llámame. Ask yourself: is this event still pending? If the main clause is a command, a plan or a future (llámame, voy a, iremos), the time clause is almost always pending, so use the subjunctive.

One more thing: a question with cuándo (with accent) is not a time clause. ¿Cuándo llegas? asks for information and stays in the indicative.

Para que means "so that" or "in order that", and it always takes the subjunctive. A purpose is by nature something not yet achieved.

• Te lo explico para que lo entiendas. I'm explaining it so that you understand.

• Hablo despacio para que me sigas. I speak slowly so you can follow me.

Notice the two subjects: I explain, you understand. That is the key. When the subject is the same, use para + infinitive: estudio para aprobar (I study to pass). When it changes, use para que + subjunctive. English hides the difference ("so you can follow", "for you to follow"), which is why learners write para tú entender.

Two close relatives behave the same way:

• antes de que always takes the subjunctive, whatever the time frame: sal antes de que llueva.

• hasta que takes the subjunctive when the end point is still pending: espera hasta que te llame. For a past or habitual fact it takes the indicative: esperé hasta que llamó.

"So the cat can come in" usually becomes para que el gato pueda entrar or simply para que entre; both are fine.

When you state a belief, you present something as true, so Spanish uses the indicative. When you doubt or deny it, the verb drops into the subjunctive.

• Creo que tiene razón. I think he's right. (indicative)

• No creo que tenga razón. I don't think he's right. (subjunctive)

• Dudo que venga. I doubt she'll come.

The same goes for no pienso que, no estoy seguro de que, es poco probable que, no es verdad que and no es que: no es que no quiera, es que no puedo (it's not that I don't want to, it's that I can't).

The English trap is that "I don't think" sounds like a statement, so learners keep the indicative: no creo que es verdad. Think of it as a switch: an affirmed creo que, pienso que or estoy seguro de que keeps the indicative; negate it, or swap in a verb of doubt, and the subjunctive appears.

Be careful with the reverse mistake too. Dudar takes the subjunctive, but no dudo que (I don't doubt) affirms, so many speakers use the indicative after it. And a question like ¿crees que va a llover? usually keeps the indicative.

Every trigger you have learned works in the past too. When the trigger verb is in the preterite, imperfect or conditional, the subjunctive verb moves into the imperfect subjunctive.

• Quiero que vengas. becomes Quería que vinieras.

• Me pide que espere. becomes Me pidió que esperara.

• Es importante que lo sepan. becomes Era importante que lo supieran.

To form it, take the ellos form of the preterite, drop -ron, and add -ra, -ras, -ra, -ramos, -rais, -ran: hablaron gives hablara, tuvieron gives tuviera, fueron gives fuera. The nosotros form takes an accent: habláramos, tuviéramos. Irregular preterites carry over, which is why you need them solid first.

There is a second set of endings in -se (hablase, tuviese). It means the same thing, is common in Spain and in writing, and is understood everywhere. Either is correct.

The English trap: "My parents wanted me to study medicine" has no visible past in the second verb, so learners write querían que estudie. Match the time of the trigger: past trigger, past subjunctive. Vosotros forms (hablarais) are used only in Spain.

Some conjunctions set a condition or restriction, and they always take the subjunctive, because the condition is not yet met:

• siempre y cuando, siempre que, con tal de que, a condición de que: as long as, provided that

• a menos que, salvo que: unless

• en caso de que: in case

• sin que: without (someone doing something)

Te lo presto siempre y cuando me lo devuelvas mañana. This is where most learners slip: they write siempre y cuando me lo devuelves. Treat these words as a fixed package with the subjunctive. (Siempre que means "provided that" only with the subjunctive; with the indicative it means "whenever": siempre que viene, trae pan.)

Two traps sit right next to them. First, plain si in a real condition takes the indicative, never the present subjunctive: si llueve, nos quedamos en casa, not si llueva. Second, dado que, ya que and puesto que mean "since" or "given that"; they give a reason, take the indicative, and cannot mean "provided that". Dado que llueve means "since it's raining", not "provided it rains".

Note the subject rule: sin que needs two subjects (salió sin que nadie lo viera); with one subject, use sin + infinitive (salió sin decir nada). Note also por si (just in case), which takes the indicative: lleva paraguas por si llueve.

Concessive clauses grant an obstacle and then brush it aside. Spanish uses the mood to show how much you grant.

With aunque, the indicative presents the obstacle as a known fact, and the subjunctive treats it as a hypothesis or as something irrelevant:

• Aunque está cansada, sigue trabajando. Even though she's tired... (fact)

• Aunque esté cansada, va a venir. Even if she's tired... (whether or not, it doesn't matter)

English marks this with "even though" versus "even if", so use that as your guide.

Por mucho que and por más que ("however much", "no matter how hard") almost always take the subjunctive when they look ahead or speak in general: por mucho que insistas, no voy. With por mucho/más + noun or adjective, the structure stretches: por más dinero que tenga, por muy caro que sea.

Finally, the reduplicated subjunctive turns "whatever", "wherever" and "whoever" into a compact formula: digas lo que digas (whatever you say), vayas donde vayas (wherever you go), pase lo que pase (whatever happens). The verb repeats, in the same subjunctive form, around lo que, donde or como.

The indicative is possible for a real, repeated fact (por más que lo intento, no me sale), but when the sentence looks ahead, as in "no matter how hard he trains, he'll never win", use the subjunctive: por más que entrene.