¡A pasarlo bien! Gramática 2

Subjunctive with the unknown or nonexistent

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• Subjunctive with the unknown or nonexistent

¡A pasarlo bien! Gramática 2

Subjunctive with the unknown or nonexistent

• You already know that the indicative is generally used to talk about what is; whereas the subjunctive is often used to talk about what should be, or what people think/feel about what is.

Alonso puede ser muy terco, pero es generoso y leal también.

Espero que Alonso sea generoso y leal conmigo.

No es bueno que Alonso sea tan terco.

speaker talks about what is

what speaker thinks/feels about what is

¡A pasarlo bien! Gramática 2

Subjunctive with the unknown or nonexistent

• In certain situations, the subjunctive is used to talk about what is not.

• It is used after expressions like No hay nadie/nada que… when the person or thing referred to, the antecedent, is nonexistent.

No hay nadie que confíe en Marcos.No hay nada que me fastidie más que un chiste grosero.

nonexistent: according to the speaker,such a person does not exist

¡A pasarlo bien! Gramática 2

Subjunctive with the unknown or nonexistent

• In other situations, the speaker doesn’t know what is. He or she may be looking for someone or something with certain qualities, without having anyone or anything particular in mind. The antecedent is unknown.

Busco una novia que sea abierta y amigable.

¿Conoces a alguien que hable francés?

Quiero comprarte algo que te guste.

unknown: the speaker doesn’t know ofanyone in particular with those qualities