Does this require subjunctive and why
We have an exercise that wants us to put in the subjunctive, but it seems to us that the situation does not require it. What do you think?
Here is the sentence
El perrito siempre seguía al niño adonde ---------------- (fuera o iba)
5 Answers
"El perrito siempre seguía al niño adonde iba" is perfect, if you are willing to declare that the boy went to some specific places, even if you don't know exactly which ones. You are effectively saying that "The boy went to some places". The subjunctive avoids the declaration, so the boy could have gone to any unimaginable place (with the dog following him) or maybe nowhere at all -you just don't say. Here it is not that important to declare that the boy went to some places -the important thing is that they dog would have followed him anywhere. The subjunctive version is less restrictive and it doesn't focus on informing that the boy did go to some places as much as it does on the dog following him, so it is often preferred when informing about the places is not the main issue.
In a sentence like "Tenía que seguirle adonde iba, pero al final me rendí y nunca aveigüé qué sitio era", I know the other person was going to a specific place, because he told me, so it makes sense to say "iba", but I have no clue about where that place was; this place is an uncertainty to me. Using "fuera" would make it sound as if it could have been any place, or even several places -you just don't know-, so subjunctive is not an advisable option if you want to make it clear that there was a specific (but unknown) destination you never found out about. In other words, if you say "fuera", and later "nunca averigüé qué sitio era", any native who hears it will find this contradiction a bit strange, and will probably solve it by assuming that whoever said that, wanted to sound as if he couldn't be bothered less about the destination (even though he is still wondering about it).
Subjunctive doesn't have to do with doubts, but absence of declarations. You declare if you want and only if you can; you avoid the declaration if you can't or don't want to. Sometimes there is no choice; sometimes the choice will determine how the sentence is understood.
People keep talking about "the correct choice between indicative and subjunctive" 
, instead of asking how will each one be interpreted, and why. Often, one of them is unacceptable (and there is a reason for it), but the rest of the time, you communicate different ideas -it is not always about right and wrong.
Fuera is correct. The subjunctive is used here to express an idea of uncertainty. The dog chased the boy no matter where he went.
If the destination were known, then you would use the indicative. El perrito siempre seguia al niño cuando iba al parque.
I hope this helps.
I agree with Usarenzo's answer as being the most intuitive, but I suggest giving a good, careful read to Lazarus' excellent explanation.
So to drive the point further home, "iba" may be used if el niño always went to the same place, even if we don't explicitly say what it was.
Let's say the setup is:
"Todas la tardes el niño seguía la rutina que le enseñó su padre, siguiendo el camino a esa punto de encuentro que sólo los de su clan conocían. Un día el niño se encontró un pequeño perrito en el camino, y se detuvo a jugar con él y le dió un trozo de pan. Desde ese día no dejaron de encontrarse, y el perrito siempre seguía al niño adonde iba."
I'd say yes. The child's location is unknown/unspecified. It's like using subjunctive when talking about something happening at some unknown/unspecified point in the future. My guess, anyway.
wow, so useful
