Why is this in the subjunctive?
Since the subjunctive is not a tense, but rather, it is a mood, and since tense refers to when an action takes place (past, present, future), and, while mood merely reflects how the speaker feels about the action......
Am I understanding the above definition properly, in the context of the following sentence;
El astrónomo trata de descubrir nuevos planetas que estén lejos de la Tierra.
The verb "estar" is in the Present Subjunctive 'mood', and I think that it is because the sentence is not stating factual information, but that there is doubt and uncertainty being expressed (trying to discover something not known to exist). Conversely, if I were to say El astrónomo ha descubierto un nuevo planeta que está lejos de la Tierra I am stating factual information, so I use the Present Indicative form of "Estar".
Am I all wet on this, or am I starting to get some inkling of understanding of the Present Subjunctive?
Thank you very much for your thoughts.
5 Answers
According to Eric Vogt in his book "The Spanish Subjunctive Up Close", this is an example of a "subordinated adjective clause". In this kind of clause, you use the subjunctive if the thing that you're describing is both
1) indefinite (no article or un/una/unos etc), and
2) something that is vague, non-existent, or unreal.
So, since the astronomers are searching for planets that might or might not exist, you need the subjunctive. And I think you are absolutely right that once they know that the planets exist, you don't need the subjunctive any more.
I love the motto "don't be subjunctiveless!"
Hi Jack,
I think that you are on the right track based on what you have stated, and have done a great job articulating your reasoning. I have only one caveat with what you have stated regarding verb mood.
mood merely reflects how the speaker feels about the action......
I don't know that this would be the best way to describe mood in terms of grammatical moods.
One way to think about moods is to decide the nature of what is being said in terms of declaration vs non-declaration.
Declarative sentences state what is so and do not introduce the doubt, uncertainty or contrary to fact/hypothetical conditions that would be true of a non-declarative sentence.
In your original sentence:
El astrónomo trata de descubrir nuevos planetas que estén lejos de la Tierra.
It might help to isolate the second clause to determine the difference that might occur were this to be stated in the indicative.
Están lejos de la Tierra. - They are far from the earth. [indicative]
In this clause you are declaring that there are indeed new planets far from earth, but this is not the intended meaning of the entire sentence. There is no actual knowledge of these planets, so a declarative statement such as this does not make sense.
Estén lejos de la Tierra. They be far from the earth. [subjunctive]
In English, to make up for frequent lack in morphological differences between the indicative and subjunctive verb forms, a modal auxiliary is often used. These modal auxiliaries include (but are not limited to) might, could, should, etc.
So the clause could be better translated to:
They (the new planets) might be far from earth
or
They could be far from earth.
In the subjunctive you are not actually declaring that the planets are in fact far from earth. You are stating that there is a possibility that exists that something might be. You are setting up a hypothetical/contrary to fact condition. By contrary to fact, I mean that the actual condition is not actually known to exist, so there is no possible way to declare that it does. For this reason, the sentence requires the subjunctive.
Jack said:
...am I starting to get some inkling of understanding of the Present Subjunctive?
YES!
Ian, you are not correct in your last statement. It is true that the subjunctive is falling out of the English language; however it is still with us. Consider the following, all of which have an English verb in the subjunctive mood:
“The training regime demands that she swim a lot” (not swims)
“The teacher insists that John do more reading” (not does)
“The law demands that you be over 18 in order to vote” (not are)
“The citizens demanded that the Minister come forward with a new law” (not came)
“The policeman demanded that Mark leave the vehicle”
“It is important that you attend this meeting of shareholders”
“It is crucial that he take a long lease on this property”
“It is essential that the photographer be at the hotel before the bridal party”
The subjunctive is also used in conditional pairs. For example:
“I would have a grand house, if I were a rich man”
“If it be the case that might is right; civilisation is in danger”
In most verbs, the difference between the indicative and the subjunctive is the omission of the final s. As you say the verb "to be" changes radically.
Hola Jack,
We English speakers create difficulties for ourselves because the English language accepts and embeds any and every shortcut. This is a strength and a weakness. It is a strength because the language is highly adaptive and flexible; it is a weakness because the essential structure of the language is masked by shortcuts and linguistic fashion. For example, the tense we call the Present Tense is actually the Present Indicative Tense, employed to make statements or ask questions in the here and now. The tense we call the Present Subjunctive is actually the Present Subjunctive Tense, employed to convey an emotional content such as fear, doubt, uncertainty, etc. Both of these are present tenses, one in the indicative mood and the second in the subjunctive mood. Secondly, if your sentence were expressed in what is now slightly archaic English, the subjunctive requirement would be obvious. "The astronauts are trying to discover new planets that may be far from Earth" The words "that may be" signal the requirement for the present subjunctive tense in English, but we don't speak like that anymore because it takes too long! Hope this helps Slán
