The Subjunctive Tips and Tricks
For those of us trying to get a handle on the subjunctive and not always getting it right over atGAME The Subjunctive I thought I'd open this up to any tips or tricks known by those who do 'get' the use of the subjunctive[1]
Lazarus has been a fantastic help with our game and although he recommends learning the basics regarding the use of the subjunctive he encouraged us to use it - 'when you don't want to specifically make any declaration.'
While this is the subjunctive in a nutshell I have been doing some reading and far from being an expert on the topic I thought I'd share my take:
for me at least I think the key lies in the name of this 'mood' itself.
The subjunctive. That is - it has to do with subjectivity:
judgment based on individual personal impressions and feelings and opinions rather than external facts.
as opposed to 'objectivity' - j
judgment based on observable phenomena and uninfluenced by emotions or personal prejudices
(Wiki quotes)
So if your sentence is just your opinion based not on what you see but on what you perceive, expect, imagine etc then this would be the time to use the subjunctive.
Well that's my tip - any others?
8 Answers
Me sorprendió que llegara tan temprano
The person we are talking about in the above sentence did arrive early indeed. There is nothing subjective about it. As a matter of fact, it is an objective fact, but one that is taken for granted in the conversation, so it is just mentioned to make a comment about your emotional reaction. Since its factuality is taken for granted, there is no need to declare it. Well, you can't even declare it, because your sentence is just about your feelings (surprise), not about communicating facts, which is something that must be known before you can talk about how you feel about them.
The subjunctive here is not there to inform of the fact, but simply to mention it (ie. without declaration) so you can explain how you feel about that already known fact.
Here is a list of clauses which signify the need for the subjunctive. I have found it helpful to memorize as many as possible.
a menos que ... unless ...
antes (de) que ... before ...
con tal (de) que ... provided that ...
cuando ... when ...
conviene que ... it is advisable that ...
después (de) que ... after ...
dudar que ... to doubt that ...
en caso de que ... in case ...
en cuanto ... as soon as ...
es aconsejable que ... it's advisable that ...
es bueno que ... it's good that ...
es difícil que ... it's unlikely that ...
es dudoso que ... it is doubtful that ...
es fácil que ... it's likely that ...
es fantástico que ... it's fantastic that ...
es importante que ... it's important that ...
es imposible que ... it's impossible that ...
es improbable que ... it's unlikely that ...
es incierto que ... it's uncertain that ...
es increíble que ... it's incredible that ...
es (una) lástima que ... it's a pity that ...
es malo que ... it's bad that ...
es mejor que ... it's better that ...
es menester que ... it's necessary that ...
es necesario que ... it's necessary that ...
esperar que ... to wish that ...
es posible que ... it's possible that ...
es preciso que ... it's necessary that ...
es preferible que ... it's preferable that ...
es probable que ... it's probable that ...
es raro que ... it's rare that ...
es ridículo que ... it's ridiculous that ...
estar contento que to be happy that ...
es terrible que ... it's terrible that ...
hasta que ... until ...
insistir en que ... to insist that ...
mandar que ... to order that ...
más vale que ... it's better that ...
mientras que ... while ...
negar que ... to deny that ...
no creer que ... not to believe that ...
no es cierto que ... it's not certain that ...
no estar convencido de que ... to not be convinced that ...
no estar seguro de que ... to not be sure that ...
no es verdad que ... it's not true that ...
no imaginarse que ... to not imagine that ...
no parecer que ... to not seem that ...
no pensar que ... to not think that ...
no suponer que ... to not suppose that ...
ojalá que ... if only he would ...
para que ... in order that ...
pedir que ... to ask that ...
preferir que ... to prefer that ...
prohibir que ... to prohibit that ...
puede ser que ... it may be that ...
querer que ... to want that ...
recomendar que ... to recommend that ...
rogar que ... to plead that ...
sentir que ... to regret that ...
sin que ... without ...
sugerir que ... to suggest that ...
tan pronto como ... as soon as ...
temer que ... to fear that ...
tener miedo de que ... to be afraid that ...
Here's one - Como si is always followed by the imperfect subjunctive, because it always expresses a hypothetical.
Como si fuera ave, volía.
This is also true of if... then clauses in the present and past, and for the same reasons.
Si fuera ave, volaría.
Si hubiera sido ave, habría volado.
These are examples where, basically, English and Spanish are the same in their grammatical construction, which helps.
J
This is obvious, but often confused:
The subjunctive is not a tense...it is a mood.
Tense has to do with "when" an action took place. Mood deals with how the person feels about the action.
Here is a very helpful link to review the subjunctive in all its' forms. Select the slide show view for easier viewing.
Le pido que no fume. (I ask him not to smoke)
Le pidió que no fumara. (I asked him not to smoke.)
Le mando que no fume. (I order him not to smoke)
Le mandé que no fumara. (I ordered him not to smoke)
Le niego que fume. (I deny him that he smokes. 'I don't allow him to smoke')
Le negué que fumara. (I denied him that he smoke. 'I didn't allow him to smoke')
and other verbs concerning ordering, requesting, denying.
I think these could be correct too, but ¡no me atreve' a insistir!' - to (attempt to) use another somewhat troublesome concept. 
And I just realised that to insist - insistir is another of those verbs!
A different acronym: Wedding 
Good stuff
