Subjunctive in present vs future

Question

Hi everyone,

When using a verb that requires the subjunctive but refers to the future, we generally just use the present subjunctive. But if we do this, how is one to know that the verb is meant to refer to the future? Is this just one of those areas where spanish is alot different from english?

Example: I want to say "I'm not sure that I will have enough money".

No estoy seguro de que tenga suficiente dinero.

But this of course could be translated as "I'm not sure that I have enough money"

Can the "Ir + infinitive" construction be used with the subjunctive:

No estoy seguro de que vaya a tener suficiente dinero.

If so, does this make more sense, or are they both correct?

Thanks.

Answer 1

When using a verb that requires the subjunctive but refers to the future, we generally just use the present subjunctive. But if we do this, how is one to know that the verb is meant to refer to the future?

Excellent question! Before even going into subjunctive, it is worth reminding ourselves that Spanish uses the present tense (indicative) to talk about the future a lot more than the so-called future tense, which is mostly used to make guesses.

"No estoy seguro de tener..." = I am not sure that I have...

"No estoy seguro de que vaya..." = I am not sure that I will have...

Now, answering your question, the choice is more pragmatical than grammatical. If you say "No estoy seguro de que tenga", in principle, it could be either now or in the future, so you need a context to clarify it. However, daily circumstances suggest that the present interpretation is more likely to happen, so we go for that one. The alternative is to use "No estoy seguro de que vaya a..."; which clearly points to a prospective hypothetical situation. For practical purposes, the former option is the default for a present situation (since the latter is always for a future one), even though it can be used for the future.

Lazarus based on what you said, would ''I think that I will have enough money to buy a rail ticket for Barcelona '' be: ''Supongo que tenga suficiente dinero para comprar un billete para ir a Barcelona'' ? - FELIZ77, Apr 17, 2011

If you "supones", you assume, you assume it to be true, and since you are declaring what you think, guess, imagine... you use indicative. - lazarus1907, Apr 18, 2011

Answer 2

From what I have read and understood from other more advanced Spanish speakers on this forum the present subjunctive is almost always used ... the future subjunctive has been almost completely been replaced in every day use by the present subjunctive.

E.g: I hope that you will enjoy your stay in our hotel, sir(that you will enjoy uses the future subjunctive in English)

= Espero que disfrutes su estadía en nuestro hotel, señor(que disfrutes uses the present subjunctive in Spanish)

I hope that helps

Corregid mi español, por favor

I will be interested to hear what Lazarus, Samdie QFreed and many of the native speakers have to say on this matter.I am open to correction, of course as usual

True, but "I hope that you enjoy ..." is common & acceptable in English, too. - Lector_Constante, Apr 17, 2011

Yes but I think the word will is almost implied :) Like for example in: I hope (that) you will soon come to visit me the word (that) is implied in the meaning and is therefore often omitted in usual speech/use :) - FELIZ77, Apr 17, 2011

Answer 3

The easiest solution might be a time definition "... suficiente dinero mañana" or whenever ??

Answer 4

It is different to English, which is why it is a confusing concept to understand for non-natives

From what I've learned, they are both acceptable to have. Vaya a, tenga, tendré, voy a tener would all be fine I'd think, but tendré more fitting than "voy a" because of the timeframe. It would all depend on context though.

In translation, the subjunctive becomes iffy and hard to differentiate. In your "No estoy seguro", you negate the statement, which requires the subjunctive to express your doubt if I'm not mistaken.

If you do want to use it for future actions, you could also use "cuando tenga" if you can fit it in.

Not much help, merely musings really!