Let's talk about subjunctive tense for a little while
Ok so I started with this question: ¿No me puedas ayudar? and got corrected to ¿No me puedes ayudar? It was decided that subjunctive is not correct there...(I think). So then I asked ¿No tengas azúcar? and got corrected to ¿No tienes azúcar? Again, the decision to not use subjunctive was made even though there is some question regarding the availability vis-a-vis sugar. However, I was told that "Que no tengas azúcar en casa es algo increíble" is correct and "Es algo increíble que no tengas azúcar en casa". To me, those seem very, very similar to the original phrase "No tengas azúcar".... so I wonder if there is a rule about when subjunctive is acceptable vs when it is not... At this point, I am left thinking that "short" sentences don't use it...ie....No puedas vs No puedes and No tengas vs no tienes....but that can't be right... I have heard "Hablemos" for let's talk instead of "Hablamos" and I have heard "Comamos" for let's eat instead of "Comemos" so the rule is there, I just can't see it yet....
If we're every going to completely tackle this tense we need to pull together!
Edit: Before you say that it needs a trigger...ie...Que, Cuando, etc.... There are plenty of not trigger situations...what about "Hablemos de fútbol" or "¡Comamos!"
Edit: Note that this thread was brought about by this thread: http://www.spanishdict.com/answers/131911/subjunctive-after-lo-que in which indicative and subjunctive tense were both used to indicate similar yet slightly different meanings. Hence the thought that "No tengas azúcar" could be used to ask a waiter for some sugar while "No tienes azúcar" would simply be a meaningless statement.
12 Answers
Would you like to join our club? The " Lost Ones" Its for those of us who have a lot of difficulty grasping the concept of the subjunctive even though the the rules are generally clear. In my case I find that occasionaly, if only by accident I get it right.
This link was provided by one of our members and it has been very helpful. The problem is not with the subjunctive, but with me.
STOP!
Before you love subjunctive as much as you can love it, subjunctive isn't a tense.
It's a mood. A mood is something you feel. Subjunctive is something you feel!
If you can't "feel" subjunctive, you can't use it in a sentence.
According to Paralee's video, subjunctive feels like wishes, emotions, opinions, requests, doubts, denial. Really, subjunctive is a way of saying "here's my opinion" or "I'm not sure of this" or "this may not happen" or "I'm not sure exactly."
There is a lot of talk about subjunctive triggers, but what about these sentences:
Busco al niño que tiene ojos azules.
I'm looking for the boy with blue eyes.
Busco a un niño que tenga ojos azules.
I'm looking for a boy with blue eyes.
If all I'm worried about is certain words triggering subjunctive, I will suddenly think "un" is a subjunctive trigger! What triggers subjunctive is the feeling. In this case, it's a feeling of uncertainty.
In English, "I'm looking for the boy with blue eyes" means that I'm looking for a specific boy that I have in mind that has blue eyes. In English, "I'm looking for a boy with blue eyes" means that I am looking for some boy that fits my description, but I may not have an exact one in mind. Something in my mind is a little doubtful about what I'm looking for or a little unsure about the exact one, and Spanish allows you to express this in the mood of the word with subjunctive.
¿Crees que haya un león en mi baño?
Do you think there's a lion in my bathroom? (Subjunctive... in other words, there probably is not!)
¿Crees que hay un león en mi baño?
Do you think there's a lion in my bathroom? (Indicative... in other words, there really may be one there and it's a strong probability!)
Tal vez llueve mañana.
Maybe it'll rain tomorrow. (Indicative... I'm telling you I think it probably will!)
Tal vez llueva mañana.
Maybe it'll rain tomorrow. (Subjunctive... I'm not sure!)
I really believe that only way to do things like imperfect/preterite and subjunctive is to let yourself feel how to use it.
¿No me puedas ayudar?
You can't feel subjunctive in that question. Even if you doubt that the person can help you, you are still just asking a flat out question about reality: "Can't you help me?" You're referring to something that can really be true and you're not injecting any opinion or desire into it.
I would suggest reading lots and lots of subjunctive examples and seeing if the FEELING of them sinks in, even if you are ignoring the "RULES". No Spanish speaker keeps a rule locked in their head, so we should be trying to get to that point where we intuitively feeeeeeeel when to use it.
(Also, in regards to negative tú commands or Ud. or Uds. or nosotros commands using a subjunctive form... while they are identical in form, those are imperatives and are not "subjunctive". An affirmative tú command, while identical to the present indicative he/she/Ud. form is not present indicative. Be careful not to let the identical forms confuse you!)
I said in another of your threads 
Always place "Que" before subjuntive "Que no me puedas ayudar es terrible" but "Si no me puedes ayudar voy a llorar"
.
You can also say ¿Que no me puedes ayudar? as in "What? you can't help me? but just in questions
About subjunctive:
Que yo ayude
Que tú ayudes
Que él ayude, etc ....es algo maravilloso
But
Si yo ayudo a mi amigo me voy a sentir mejor (This is present tense and "que" is not possible except when you repeat the idea as "I said.... " as Gekk told you.
Example:
¿Qué dijiste???
(Dije) que si ayudo a mi amigo me voy a sentir mejor!!
Hablemos is "let's talk"
Hablamos is "We talk"
.
Is it any clear now? Hope I didn't confuse you more jeezz!!
I'm far from being an expert on the subjunctive, but I do know some of the rules. D4N is correct in that the subject is never the main clause in the sentence. Usually the main clause is first, but not always. In the two examples you gave ("Que no tengas azúcar en casa es algo increíble" and "Es algo increíble que no tengas azúcar en casa"), the "es algo increíble" is the main clause. Try saying that without the other clause, and you still have a complete sentence. "That you don't have sugar" is not a complete sentence.
Commands or imperatives are different. The command form of the verb usually looks just like the subjunctive. "Hablemos" and "Comamos" are commands, not subjunctives (they just look like subjunctives).
And, of course you're correct, Jeezzle, that there's some doubt or uncertainty in the subjunctive clause. Paralee calls it WEIRDO.
IF (conditional) triggers subjunctive in the 2nd and 3rd case
.
1st Case
If you study hard, you'll pass your exams
Si tú estudias mucho, aprobarás tus exámenes
.
2nd case
If you were here, I'd be very happy
Si estuvieras o estuvieses aquí, sería muy felíz
Another example:
If I were you, I'd talk to her
Si yo fuera o fuese tú, hablaría con ella
.
3rd Case
If I had known it yesterday, I would have call him
Si lo hubiera o hubiese sabido ayer, lo habría llamado
Hence the thought that "No tengas azúcar" could be used to ask a waiter for some sugar while "No tienes azúcar" would simply be a meaningless statement.
By the way, jeez, do you realize that
no tengas azúcar would be a negative command?
NO comas, no tengas azúcar, no vengas....always used with subjunctive.
A question would not make sense.
So, is there no way to say "Don't you have any sugar?" as a positive question? Almost every question I ask is in a negative form. Aren't you going to eat that? Don't you want to come? Shouldn't you fix that? Won't we be late? Don't you have any sugar? - jeezzle 5 mins ago
¿No tienes azúcar? (surprised)
¿No vas a comer eso? (again surprised)
¿No quieres venir??? (surprised again 
)
¿NO deberías arreglarlo?? (sounds upset)
¿No vamos a llegar tarde?? (worried)
¿No tienes azúcar? ( oh ... that's strange... everybody has some sugar at home)
"Hablemos de football" is "Let's talk about football" Let's is always subjunctive jeezz
Then
"No me importa que hablemos todo el día de fútbol" (see? que hablemos - 2 clauses)
"Todas los lunes por la mañana hablamos del partido del fin de semana" ( present- Every monday morning we talk about... )
I have nothing to add. I'm just trying to absorb all of the information in this thread because I am also trying to master the subjunctive.
Gracias por este hilo Jeezzle.
Plural commands including the speaker, (let's...) are always in subjiunctive mood. That is a fixed rule.
No tienes azúcar? is a simple question, , just like ¿tienes azúcar? why should that be subjunctive?
What a great post!
I think "¿No tienes azucar?" is not subjunctive because while there is doubt in your mind, the question and answer are going to be certain. Would it help if you compared your question to "¿Tienes azucar?" It wouldn´t make sense to have the negative question subjunctive and the positive not.
"Que no tengas azúcar en casa es algo increíble" is more like saying it is incredible that you might not have sugar. The possibility is incredible.
I think. I may well be corrected though, as I have a difficult time with subjunctive too.
We were just talking about it in my spanish class, and my prof said that the subjunctive is only used when there are two clauses. In "no tengas azucar?" there is only one clause, so it's the indicative, even though there is doubt. "Es algo increible" is one clause and "que no tengas azucar en casa" is the second clause.
