why is the subjuctive used in this sentence?

Question

No entiendo que haya vidas maltratadas por cualquiera y no puedan decidir. Why are haber and poder in the subjunctive? I don't see how saying I don't understand (no entiendo) would create doubt for the following verbs to be in the subjuctive.

Answer 1

Or you could look at your lack of comprehension or confusion as an subjective (emotional) reaction to the subordinate clause. You are not declaring the subordinate clause, but rather stating your reaction to it.

its "a subjunctive..." not "an" unless you're referring to "emotional" and in that case it shouldn't be in parenthesis - preny, Nov 25, 2010

and you could practice being a little nicer with your responses. We're not all perfect Spanish speakers you know and not all of us speak a romantic language to perfectly understand the subjunctive and not all of us have good Spanish teachers - preny, Nov 25, 2010

to appropriately teach us the subjunctive. - preny, Nov 25, 2010

and to comment on your comment I already speak 4 languages which in most peoples opinion is pretty good for someone who isn't even old enough to drive - preny, Nov 25, 2010

Answer 2

Because you are saying you don't understand it, you can't declare it, therefore you use the subjunctive rather than the indicative.