No creo que + subjuntivo +ser/estar

Question

I had a test recently and the question went something like this:

No creo que él______(ser/estar) arquitecto.

I used subjuntive and the verb "ser".

No creo que él sea arquitecto.

The results came and I was wrong. Can someone explain why was I wrong, or confirm I was right, because I believe I really was.

• No creo que él.... - qfreed Apr 13, 2011
• Lo se. No tengo espanol en mi computador, y no puedo usar acentuacion. - MartaS Apr 13, 2011
• Bienvendia al foro. Welcome to the forum. - qfreed Apr 13, 2011
• Gracias :) - MartaS Apr 13, 2011
• If you are posting, then you should see some buttons for accented characters below the entry box on questions. :) - Luciente Apr 13, 2011
View 1 more commments >>

Answer 1

Hi, Marta. Welcome to the forum.

I would have said the same as you:

No creo que él (note the accent mark here) sea arquitecto.

(I don't believe that he is an architect.)

• I know, as I said in the previous comment, I don't have Spanish keyboard installed. Thanks for the welcome. And I was certain I was right... - MartaS Apr 13, 2011
• Was it manually graded.? Teachers make mistakes just like the rest of us. - qfreed Apr 13, 2011
• I took the test on a computer. She probably made a mistake while adding the answers. - MartaS Apr 13, 2011

Answer 2

Hi, Martas! Welcome to the forum!

The tense you chose is right, but what you wrote is:

I don't think that the is an architect.

The correct sentence would be:

No creo que él sea arquitecto

Or even better:

No creo que sea arquitecto.

• I agree that she doesn't need the "él" but I bet it was written that way on her school test and she just had to fill in the blank with either subjunctive "ser" or "estar." - --Mariana-- Apr 13, 2011
• No, I just had to choose one of the three provided answers. It already had él. - MartaS Apr 13, 2011
• I think we need to tell her about the accent mark one more time. How did you see it? I already corrected it. - qfreed Apr 13, 2011

Answer 3

Just to add a little more confusion: link

• Doesn't fit this context, but I'm glad to read it. It never made any sense to me that you could not declare what you did not believe in. - qfreed Apr 13, 2011

Answer 4

Unless Paralee taught me wrong, it should be "No creo que (él) sea arquitecto.

You can leave "él" out as "architecto implies you're referring to a male character. Was it a school test? If so, your teacher may be on dope or maybe he/she wasn't completely aware.

My English teacher once commented: "Gustav, you're English is very good" on an essay I made, which I thought was a bit interesting.

• To err is human, to forgive is Divine. - qfreed Apr 13, 2011
• I suppose. - Gustav-R Apr 13, 2011

Answer 5

I have been reviewing the article ser vs estar in the Reference Library; and, as we all remember, with emotions, feelings, etc. one uses estar. Would a case of "belief" (i.e., I believe = I feel) cause this phrase to require estar?

• No: read the lazarus C I D article - lorenzo9 Apr 13, 2011

Answer 6

Only one thing to do - Ask Lazarus

Answer 7

In the expression "No creo que (él) sea arquitecto," you basically have two distinct ideas represented by the two clauses:

(1) No creo

(2) sea arquitecto

In these types of constructions, the second clause acts as a compliment to the verb in the first clause. That is to say that the second clause names that which is not believed. With the verb (in the second clause) in the subjunctive, the speaker puts in doubt the veracity of the statement so that the fact of the person being an architect must be taken as hypothetical (or contrary to fact) in nature.

On the other hand, if the verb in the second clause is placed in the indicative, it becomes declarative in nature so that "es arquitecto/he is an architect" becomes a true statement from the speaker's perspective (i.e. the speaker believes this to be a statement of fact or truth).

Now let's consider the logical implications of placing the second clause in either the indicative or the subjunctive. In the subjunctive, you make the following type of statement:

►No creo que (él) sea arquitecto. → I don't believe some hypothetical condition

or

►I don't believe something that is (from my perspective) contrary to fact

Using the indicative, however, sets up the paradoxical argument:

►No creo que (él) es arquitecto. → I don't believe some condition that I declare to be a statement of fact

or, more generally:

►I don't believe to be true what I do believe to be true

Or as the RAE puts:

Si se usara el indicativo se incurriría en una contradicción lógica, en cuanto que el hablante aceptaría en la subordinada lo que da por falso en la principal. → If the indicative were used it would result in a logical contradiction, in that the speaker would accept or affirm in the subordinate clause what he considers or assumes to be false in the main clause

Manual de la Nueva gramática de la lengua española ©2010
Real Academia Española © Todos los derechos reservados