You’ll also learn when to use each one, see example sentences and discover useful practice resources for mastering both.<\/p>\n
[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n
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Subjunctive vs. Indicative Spanish: The Key Differences<\/h2>\n
There are three moods in Spanish: indicative, subjunctive and imperative. A mood is a category of verb tenses that indicate the attitudes and intentions of the speaker.<\/p>\n
The subjunctive mood<\/strong> expresses:<\/p>\n While the indicative mood<\/strong> is used to talk about:<\/p>\n Here are some sentences in the subjunctive mood:<\/p>\n Ella quiere que su hermano\u00a0ande\u00a0<\/strong>en bicicleta. Ojal\u00e1 que vayamos<\/strong> a la playa. And some in the indicative mood:<\/p>\n Ella quiere<\/strong> ir a la playa. Ma\u00f1ana mi hermano y yo jugaremos<\/strong> al futbol. In any beginner Spanish class, you’ll learn to describe your own actions and other people’s actions using the indicative mood.<\/p>\n Ella lee<\/strong> el di\u00e1rio cada d\u00eda.\u00a0 Ustedes toman<\/strong> el autob\u00fas.\u00a0 T\u00fa siempre dices<\/strong> la verdad. Ellas van<\/strong> al doctor.\u00a0 However, when commenting on<\/strong> these actions<\/strong>\u2014expressing likes, dislikes, preferences and other opinions\u2014you\u2019ll need to change these verbs into the subjunctive mood.<\/p>\n A m\u00ed me gusta que ella lea <\/strong>el di\u00e1rio cada d\u00eda. La profesora sugiere que ustedes tomen <\/strong>el autob\u00fas.\u00a0 Yo respeto que t\u00fa siempre digas<\/strong> la verdad. Es importante que ellas vayan <\/strong>al doctor.\u00a0 We might think that beliefs are more like opinions rather than objective facts. But in Spanish, you must use the indicative mood to talk about positive beliefs.<\/p>\n Yo creo que ella volver\u00e1 <\/strong>a casa esta noche. On the other hand, if someone’s expressing doubt or uncertainty, use the subjunctive mood.<\/p>\n Yo no creo que ella vuelva <\/strong>a casa esta noche. Here, what\u2019s important isn\u2019t the truth of the claim\u2014it\u2019s the person\u2019s perception of the situation.<\/strong><\/p>\n If you’re expressing a positive belief, use the indicative. If you’re expressing doubt, use the subjunctive.<\/p>\n For a real-life example, check out the song “Lo dudo”<\/em><\/a> (I Doubt It) by Argentine singer Karina la Princesita.<\/p>\n Notice in the lyrics that she uses the subjunctive to follow up the phrase dudo que<\/em> (I doubt that) but the indicative to follow up s\u00e9 que\u00a0<\/em>(I know that).<\/p>\n The conditional tense<\/a> (the Spanish equivalent of the English phrase \u201cI would…\u201d) is indicative.<\/p>\n So, when talking about what you or others would do in a given situation,<\/strong> use the conditional tense rather than the subjunctive.<\/p>\n Yo har\u00eda <\/strong>lo mismo en su situaci\u00f3n. Very frequently, you’ll see a conditional verb accompanied by a subjunctive verb when trying to express things in an \u201cif…then\u201d format:<\/strong><\/p>\n Si ella tuviera<\/strong> que mudarse, se ir\u00eda<\/strong> a Londres. Here, the verb tuviera <\/em>(had) is the past subjunctive and se ir\u00eda <\/em>(would go) is the conditional.<\/p>\n On the other hand, when talking about wants or desires, use the subjunctive.<\/p>\n In these situations, you can frequently tell that you need to use the subjunctive when you see the word que <\/em>(that).<\/strong> For example:<\/p>\n Yo quiero que t\u00fa me hables.<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00c9l espera que nosotros vengamos<\/strong> a su fiesta de cumplea\u00f1os. This is a slight caveat to the previous rule about wishes, wants, preferences and desires.<\/p>\n When somebody’s commenting on their own <\/strong>actions, there’s no need for the subjunctive. Instead, use the infinitive form.<\/p>\n Yo quiero viajar <\/strong>a Irlanda. Mis padres prefieren cenar<\/strong> temprano.\u00a0 If you were expressing a desire for somebody\u00a0else to\u00a0do something<\/strong>, you’d use the subjunctive.<\/p>\n For example:<\/p>\n Yo quiero que mi hermana viaje\u00a0<\/strong>a Irlanda.\u00a0 Mis padres prefieren que t\u00fa cenes<\/strong> temprano.\u00a0 As a general rule, don\u2019t use the subjunctive mood to talk about your own actions.<\/strong><\/p>\n You might hear a few exceptions, but using the indicative would be just as correct. For example, you can say both of these sentences:<\/p>\n No creo que (yo) vaya<\/strong> al concierto. No creo ir<\/strong> al concierto. If the verb you use after si<\/em> talks about a future event, use the indicative mood.<\/strong><\/p>\n Si llueve,<\/strong> no iremos<\/strong> a la playa. Si ganamos<\/strong> el partido, celebraremos<\/strong> durante toda la noche. Even if those phrases don\u2019t represent objective facts, they do represent realistic situations.<\/strong><\/p>\n On the other hand, you can use the subjunctive mood to slightly change the meaning of your sentence and express unlikely or impossible circumstances.<\/strong><\/p>\n Si lloviera, <\/strong>no ir\u00edamos <\/strong>a la playa. To go a step further, you can use a pluperfect subjunctive conjugation to describe an entirely imaginary, impossible situation that might have occurred but didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n Si hubiera llovido, <\/strong>no habr\u00edamos ido a la playa. Usually, Spanish commands<\/a> are made using the imperative mood\u2014something entirely different from the indicative and subjunctive.<\/p>\n However, if you want to be more\u00a0<\/em>formal and\u00a0<\/em>polite, you can use the subjunctive to sound softer and more respectful.<\/p>\n The easiest way to do this is to use quisiera <\/em>(I want) or\u00a0si pudieras.<\/em><\/p>\n Quisiera<\/strong> que me pase el sal. \u00bfSi pudieras<\/strong>, me pasar\u00edas el sal? You can also make requests using\u00a0poder<\/em> in the indicative present tense:<\/p>\n \u00bfPuedes<\/strong> ayudarme?<\/em> \u00bfPuedo<\/strong> traerte una bebida?<\/em> Remembering when to use the indicative vs. subjunctive moods can be tricky.<\/p>\n But an easy way to keep the two moods straight is to<\/strong> know the \u201ctrigger phrases\u201d <\/b>commonly associated with one mood or the other.<\/p>\n “Triggers” are words and phrases that, when used in a sentence, usually tell you which mood or tense you should use.<\/p>\n You may have already noticed a few of these triggers throughout this article.<\/p>\n Some common phrases that go with the indicative mood<\/strong> are:<\/p>\n And the common trigger words for the subjunctive mood<\/strong> are:<\/p>\n FluentU<\/strong> takes authentic videos\u2014like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks\u2014and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.<\/p>\r\n <\/p> \r\n You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app<\/a> or Android app.<\/a><\/p>\r\n P.S. If you decide to sign up now, you can take advantage of our current sale!<\/a><\/i>\r\n<\/p>\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n \n
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\n<\/em>(She wants her brother to ride his bike.)<\/p>\n
\n<\/em>(I hope we go to the beach.)<\/p>\n
\n<\/em>(She wants to go to the beach.)<\/p>\n
\n<\/em>(Tomorrow, my brother and I will play soccer.)<\/p>\nActions (Indicative) vs. Thoughts About Actions (Subjunctive)<\/h2>\n
\n<\/em>(She reads the newspaper every day.)<\/p>\n
\n<\/em>(You guys take the bus.)<\/p>\n
\n<\/em>(You always tell the truth.)<\/p>\n
\n<\/em>(They go to the doctor.)<\/p>\n
\n<\/em>(I like that she reads the newspaper every day.)<\/p>\n
\n<\/em>(The professor suggests that you guys take the bus.)<\/p>\n
\n<\/em>(I respect that you always tell the truth.)<\/p>\n
\n<\/em>(It’s important that they go to the doctor.)<\/p>\nBeliefs (Indicative) vs. Doubts (Subjunctive)<\/h2>\n
\n<\/em>(I believe that she’ll come home tonight.)<\/p>\n
\n<\/em>(I don’t believe that she’ll come home tonight.)<\/p>\nSentences with \u201cI would…\u201d (Indicative) vs. \u201cI want…\u201d (Subjunctive)<\/h2>\n
\n<\/em>(I’d do the same in her situation.)<\/p>\n
\n<\/em>(If she had to move, she’d go to London.)<\/p>\n
\n<\/em>(I want you to talk to me.)<\/p>\n
\n<\/em>(He hopes that we’ll come to his birthday party.)<\/p>\nTalking About Actions: Yours (Indicative) vs. Others’ (Subjunctive)<\/h2>\n
\n<\/em>(I want to travel to Ireland.)<\/p>\n
\n<\/em>(My parents prefer to eat dinner early.)<\/p>\n
\n<\/em>(I want my sister to travel to Ireland)<\/p>\n
\n<\/em>(My parents prefer that you eat dinner early.)<\/p>\n
\n<\/em>(I don\u2019t think I\u2019ll go to the concert.)<\/p>\n
\n<\/em>(I don\u2019t think I\u2019ll go to the concert.)<\/p>\nDiscussing Situations: Realistic (Indicative) vs. Imaginary (Subjunctive)<\/h2>\n
\n<\/em>(If it rains, we won\u2019t go to the beach.)<\/p>\n
\n<\/em>(If we win the game, we\u2019ll celebrate all night long.)<\/p>\n
\n<\/em>(If it rained, we wouldn\u2019t go to the beach.)<\/p>\n
\n<\/em>(If it had rained, we wouldn\u2019t have gone to the beach.)<\/p>\nMaking Requests: Direct (Indicative) vs. Polite (Subjunctive)<\/h2>\n
\n<\/em>(I\u2019d like for you to pass me the salt.)<\/p>\n
\n<\/em>(If you could, would you pass me the salt?)<\/p>\n
\n(Can you help me?)<\/p>\n
\n(Can I get you a drink?)<\/p>\nSubjunctive vs. Indicative: Common Words and Phrases<\/h2>\n
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Resources for Practicing the Spanish Indicative vs. Subjunctive Moods
![\"subjunctive-vs-indicative-spanish\"](\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/2\/subjunctive-vs-indicative-spanish-1.jpg\")
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![\"FluentU](\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/iTunesArtwork@1x.png\")
<\/a><\/div>You can also listen to native speakers using these two grammar structures with short Spanish videos on FluentU<\/a>. ![\"FluentU](\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/2\/NativeAd-Spanish.jpg\")
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