Natives/Advanced: Question re subjunctive & negative

Question

I'm studying the subjunctive mood and I am learning that one of its uses is in "negative" situations, like when something does not exist. I understand why the first two sentences are in the subjunctive mood. But I do not understand why the third one is in the indicative mood (according to my textbook). Can anyone clarify the difference for me?

#1. No hay ningún estereotipo que (corresponderse) se corresponda exactamente con la realidad. (subjunctive)

#2. Vamos a otra tienda. Aquí no hay nada que me (gustar) guste. (sujunctive)

#3. Nadie (saber) sabe cómo va a ser la vida en el año 2050. (Indicative)

I see that the first two sentences use the phrase "no hay". Is that the key?

Thanks for any help!

Hey, is that one of those tribble things? - webdunce, Feb 16, 2011

Podrias decir:"No hay nadie que sepa como va a ser la vida en el año 2050" - lukaaxx, Feb 16, 2011

http://users.ipfw.edu/jehle/courses/verbs/saber.htm - lukaaxx, Feb 16, 2011

There are a lot of subjunctive sabers on that chart lukaaxx! Thank you. - happyquilter, Feb 16, 2011

Answer 1

In the first two examples, we are dealing with relative clauses with negative antecedents (nadie, no hay), and those go with the subjunctive.

In the third example, however, the sentence structure is that of an interrogativa indirecta, and in that case the indicative is used (with some possible exceptions, but they aren't relevant here). You can reformulate the message like this, if it helps to illustrate the concept: "¿Cómo va a ser la vida en el año 2050? Nadie sabe."

Hope this makes at least some sense. I've found (reluctingly) that looking at the type of structure we're dealing with is essential when discovering the rules involved.

Good luck

Thank you vikingo. It is good to be able to analyze structures. That makes sense. Fyi the first two don't have nadie, but I understand about the relative clause, in this case adjective clause. - happyquilter, Feb 16, 2011

"Nadie" was just me being cross-eyed, but if it _had_ been used as an antecedent in an adjective clause, it would use subjunctive. - Vikingo, Feb 16, 2011

Answer 2

I think what may be throwing you off is the word Nadie. Even though Nadie is a negative word in essence your statement is not. You are affirming/stating that No one will know what life will be like in the year 2050. Hence, the use of the indicative and not the subjunctive.

I hope this helps!

Thank you usarenzo. That makes sense. I will be careful not to fall prey to every negative word I see, lol! - happyquilter, Feb 16, 2011

Answer 3

Podrias decir: "No hay nadie que sepa como va a ser la vida en el año 2050"

I agree the subjuntive is correct here because the relative clause which starts with "que" and describes "nadie" in this case. - happyquilter, Feb 16, 2011

Podrias decir también: "No hay quien sepa como va a ser la vida en el año 2050" - lukaaxx, Feb 16, 2011

Makes sense due to the "no hay." They don't exist. - happyquilter, Feb 17, 2011

Answer 4

Thank you very much to everyone who answered my question. I really do feel confident now that I understand this use of the subjunctive much better.

Gracias a ti por preguntar. Estamos acá para ayudarnos. - gone, Feb 16, 2011

Answer 5

I asked my teacher about a similar situation a few weeks ago, and she told me that with "saber" you always use indicitive. Sorry I can't explain why it is, it just always is.

Thank you KayT. Usarenzo explained it, but it's often helpful to have little "rules" too. - happyquilter, Feb 16, 2011

Always? I'm sure I can post some sentences with "saber" using the subjunctive. - 00e657d4, Feb 16, 2011

Guillermo, la propuesta sería con saber y no con No saber. Ej, Sé que eres inteligente. No sé si seas inteligente. Si tienes otros ejemplo, por favor compártelos. - gone, Feb 16, 2011

Answer 6

the word "nadie"

It looks like it is not so much the word "nadie" as it is the adjective clause. - happyquilter, Feb 16, 2011