What tense do I use after "Cuando ..."?

Question

For example, "Cuando mis amigos estan preocupados, yo..."

Thanks in advance =)

EDIT: Ack so I think I typed the question wrong xD What tense would go after "yo" in "Cuando mis amigos estan preocupados, yo..." Thanks =)

Answer 1

Are you asking about tense or mood (indicative or subjunctive)?

Since you asked about tense:

When my friends are (están) happy, I am happy too. (present tense)

If you were asking about mood, the subjunctive mood is used when the verb following cuando refers to future time (even if it is future time in the past).

Le diré cuando ella llegue a casa. (I will tell her when she gets home).

Iba a decirle cuando ella llegara a casa. (I was going to tell her when she got home).

Answer 2

Hey, welcome to the forum. Actually there are a lot of usages of this.

Let's start with yours; If you are talking about a general thing it's okay to use present tense.

Cuando mis amigos están preocupados, yo les animo.

If you are talking about a future event;

Cuando mis amigos estén preparados, les voy a llevar al café de mi tio.

If you are talking about a future event but if you want to say that the first event needs to be done for the other to start.

Cuando me haya ido a España , te voy a llamar mama...

If you are talking about a past event;

Cuando yo estaba bañandome alguien llamó el timbre.

another past event;

Cuando le llamaste , él ya había ido.

That's all I remember now, If I do more I'll add them up. I hope this helps you

Answer 3

Well, what is the tense of the verb "estan" in this sentence?

Try it in English...When my friends are worried, I _____ worried, too.

Now, find the correct form of the verb. See what you come up with and get back to us.

I'm sure you can do it.

Answer 4

It all depends on the context of what you are saying in the case of your example you have used correctly the present indicative tense of estar i.e. estan but you could say Cuando era joven and there you would need the past tense of ser to say When I was young.