Todo lo que puedas comer - why a subjunctive here?

Question

why do you use the subjunctive of poder here?

poder - fatchocobo, Feb 5, 2011

dew, the verb is poder. - Deanski, Feb 5, 2011

I knew that, just testing.. (typo) - dewclaw, Feb 5, 2011

Answer 1

The subjunctive is used here because there is no certainty on how much food you will be able to eat. If I say: "Todo lo que puedes comer es esto" (indicative) I am setting a limit on the amount of food you will be allowed to eat. There is no uncertainty with respect to that.

I hope this makes sense to you

thanks - dewclaw, Feb 8, 2011

Answer 2

There was a Gumby cartoon back in the 60's that had a lemonade stand that advertised "All You Can Drink for 10 cents". After they had their first glass, the owner told Gumby and Pokey "That is all you can drink for 10 cents." They were pissed.

Hehehe. - Vikingo, Feb 5, 2011

lol :) - pesta, Feb 5, 2011

Love it... lol! - gone, Feb 5, 2011

todo lo que puedas beber - dewclaw, Feb 8, 2011

Answer 3

I agree with usarenzo, and want to add the following clarification:

In a relative phrase like this, the subjunctive is about being unspecific, you're telling your listener that you don't know how much he can eat.

With the indicative, you are being specific, in this case you're saying that you know more or less how much he can eat, and you want to emphasize that you know this.

¡Gracias, Vikingo! - gone, Feb 5, 2011

thats very useful - dewclaw, Feb 8, 2011