Expressing Doubt, Denial, Hope and Possibility: Understanding the Subjunctive

When Spanish speakers wish to express that something they are talking about is not real or not known to be a fact, they use the subjunctive verb mood. The subjunctive, which expresses subjectivity, desire, doubt, unreality, incompletion, possibility, etc., is often triggered by verbs expressing doubt, wishes, hope, denial, etc., or by adverbs of time that imply future occurence.

Doubt, wish, hope, denial, before, until = Subjunctive:

• Dudo que apruebes el exámen -- I doubt you will pass the exam
  Espero que apruebes el exámen -- I hope you pass the exam
  No creo que hayas aprobado -- I do not believe you have passed
  Es imposible que apruebes -- It is impossible for you to pass
  Es posible que apruebes -- It is possible that you will pass
  Quizá apruebes -- Perhaps you will pass
  Ojalá que apruebes esta vez -- I hope you pass this time
  Ojalá que hubieras aprobado la última vez -- I wish you had passed last time
  Estás castigado hasta que apruebes -- You're grounded until you pass

As you can see, the subjunctive also has its own conjugation pattern.

Notice the subjunctive verbs all describe actions which are not real in the mind of the speaker, either because they seem improbable or have not yet occurred.

The indicative mood affirms a fact or states a reality. The subjunctive mood describes an action which -- at the moment of the occurence of the first verb and in the mind of the speaker -- hasn't yet occured or doesn't exist.

As you can see in the examples above, the second verb describes an action that, at the moment of the occurence of the first verb and in the mind of the speaker, has not yet happened, and in fact, may never happen. Because the event is not "real", the subjunctive mood must be used.

Although ruled by "trigger" words, it's important to remember that, above all, the subjunctive mood expresses the speaker's subjective view of a given event.