Cap ítulo 12: gramática I

1. Capítulo 12: gramática I El subjuntivo con verbos y frases de emoción, opinión y recomendación

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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?

5. 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)

6. 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.

7. 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)

8. 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…”

9. 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 quees bueno /malo que • es importante que es (im)posible que • es lógico que es mejor que • es necesario quees ridículo que • es una lástima que

10. 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.

11. 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.

12. 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

13. 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.

14. ¡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.

15. 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.