Indicative
The Spanish indicative is what we can call the “normal” mood. We use it to talk about facts – about something that has happened in the past, is happening in the present, or we know will certainly happen in the future. These are tenses such as presente, pretérito indefinido or pretérito perfecto – and are in the indicative mood.
Viene Carlos esta tarde. Carlos is coming over this afternoon.
Carlos is definitely coming round this afternoon, so we use the verb viene, which is in the indicative mood.
Subjunctive
The subjunctive, on the other hand, is the opposite of ‘fact’.
Just like the indicative, there are tenses in the subjunctive – such as subjunctive presente or pretérito imperfecto.
We use these tenses to describe “virtual information” – in other words, our perception or attitude towards something, rather than the expression of a fact:
Espero que Carlos venga esta tarde. I hope Carlos comes over this afternoon.
Can you spot the feeling and emotion in the verb espero (I hope)?
This is what has triggered the present subjunctive verb “venga”.
By saying “I hope” in this sentence, I’m really saying that I’d like Carlos to come round, but I don’t know if he actually will or not.
It’s not a factual statement. It’s simply what I’m wishing for.
Some Simple Rules
1. Look at the verbs in the sentence
If…There’s only one verb in the sentence, it’ll be indicative
Just like this sentence right here:
Elena habla español. Elena speaks Spanish
Check it out: it’s a fact. Elena actually does speak Spanish.
If…There are two verbs in the sentence, but both refer to the same person, they’ll both be indicative.
In cases like these, you’ll use the indicative for the first verb and the infinitive (the purest form of the verb with a ‘to’ in front of it) for the second.
Like this:
Elena quiere hablar español. Elena wants to speak Spanish.
If…There are two verbs – the first expressing emotion – separated by “que”, the first is indicative and the second is subjunctive
Oh and one more thing: in this case, the two verbs won’t refer to the same person.
Check out this example:
Jaime quiere que Elena hable español. Jaime wants the Elena speaks Spanish.
See: Jaime is expressing a wish for Elena. A subjunctive trigger, if ever we’ve seen one.
2. Understand the meaning of the sentence
Look at the sentence: is it talking about something that’s factual, or are you expressing doubt or uncertainty?
Your clue will be the first verb or expression that comes before the que.
It will determine whether you have to use the subjunctive for the second verb that comes after que.
If…The first verb or expression conveys certainty, make the second verb indicative
For example:
Sé que Elena habla español. I know that Elena speaks Spanish.
Read between the lines: using “know” implies there is no doubt that Elena actually speaks Spanish – which means the subjunctive has no place in this sentence.
If…The first verb or expression conveys uncertainty, make the second verb subjunctive
Just like this:
Dudo que Elena hable español. I doubt that Elena speaks Spanish.
Doubt and uncertainty alert! See how the first verb has triggered the subjunctive?
To sum up
We use the indicative to talk about facts we consider to be certain.
We use the subjunctive to describe how we feel about those facts, and to express uncertainty.