Yo diría que... (and I presume it's followed by a subjunctive?)

Question

I often say in English to express my opinion...

'I would say that (this is a good thing)'

Do they use this construction in Spain? For example:

Yo diría que... (and I presume it's followed by a subjunctive?)

So, yo diría que sea una cosa buena... or... yo diría que fuese una cosa buena... or... yo diría que si...

Is this right?

Answer 1

You would only use the subjunctive after the conditional if the clause after the conditional is an "if" clause. For example: "I would say that if he had the money"(Yo diría eso si él tuviera el dinero.) If you want to say "I would say that..." meaning "It is my opinion that...", you would not use the subjunctive. For example, "I would say that they left early. (Yo diría que salieron temprano). Or you could follow with the present tense or the future: "I would say that they leave early every day" (Yo diría que se van temprano todos los días) or I would say that they will leave tomorrow" (Yo diría que saldrán mañana.)

Gracias a Mountaingirl -- ¡fue un gran explicación! - Daniel, Oct 14, 2009

Answer 2

Cheers guys!

Answer 3

Hi ford, this expression is often used, but not followed by subjunctive, as this is expressing an opinion.

Yo diría que este hombre es idiota. Yo diría que ¿por qué no vamos al cine mejor?