Is this really a subjunctive sentence?
In one of the lesson plans, it says that this is a subjunctive sentence. I'm not sure why it would be subjunctive, when it seems pretty factual to me.
The law requires that you be 18 years old to vote.
Isn't that a fairly factual, truthful statement? so why would it be subjunctive. thats not just someones opinion or judgement. A law is the truth.
7 Answers
I think the best answer is that the subjunctive is not only about uncertainty. One example is verb connoting emotion: He got angry that we went without him. There's no doubt that we went without him, yet you have to use the subjunctive.
It's the same idea with "require". All verbs connoting requesting, asking, demanding, requiring and so on require the subjunctive. (This is the "R" in W.E.I.R.D.O.)
Another way of thinking about it: a young person comes to register to vote. I have no idea whether this person is 18 or not. I say "The law requires that you be 18..." It doesn't make the other person 18, it just lets them know what the condition is.
Hope this helps...
¿Un mandato?
The law requires that you be 18 years old to vote.
Here, even in English, the subjunctive is used in the second clause. You are in effect stating a hypothetical condition rather than an actual declaration of fact. Consider the difference in meaning when this clause is isolated using subjunctive and indicative verb forms, respectively
• You be 18 years old (non-declarative/subjunctive)
• You are 18 years old (declarative/indicative)
Querer followed by a change of person is always a subjunctive - requerer stems from querer
I think the best answer is that the subjunctive is not only about uncertainty. One example is verb connoting emotion: He got angry that we went without him. There's no doubt that we went without him, yet you have to use the subjunctive.
Just a thought:
In sentences such as these, I think that it might be better to consider the clause in terms of whether or not it makes a declarative statement. In your English translation, your second clause is in the indicative (i.e. "We went without him" is a declaration), so it makes it difficult to see the correlation with the subjunctive.
It might be better, in remaining faithful to the subjunctive meaning, to translate the second clause alongside a suitable modal auxiliary. For example: "He got angry that we would go without him." Here the second clause becomes non-declarative as you are no longer stating that you "did go" (declarative) but instead that you "would go" (non-declarative/hypothetical).
The law requires that you be 18 years old to vote.
La ley requiere que tenga 18 años para votar. It seems like a straight forward stament.
requiere que tenga
This clause here makes the whole thing conditional. "if you are 18" .
This is a really good question. Anymore answers out there??
