Skip the subjunctive altogether?
So I work with native speakers all day at work. My Spanish is good enough to convey 95 percent of what I want to say and understand 95 percent as well. I have never had formal training, so one of the last things that I have been trying to perfect (besides little grammatical errors which manifest themselves quite often) is the subjunctive. I frequently get it wrong when I don't want to take the time to pause and use the subjunctive, although I am understood very well from the native speakers. My question: does this happen alot to anyone else? Also, is it really annoying to natives when I decide to be lazy and skip the subjunctive?
20 Answers
Right now I write this letter and I have great time, and tomorrow I go to beach with friends.
Do you understand what I wrote? I am not good at using articles or the present continuous (I am writing), so I skip them altogether. After all, I can understand natives when they use them, so why bother?
How do you intend to make negative commands without the subjunctive? In indicative?
No digas eso- Don't enter
No entras - You are not entering (it sounds almost like an invitation)
No digas esas cosas - Don't say those things
No dices esas cosas - You don't say those things
No creo que tú vienes = I don't believe that I know you are coming????
Aunque vienes... = Although (I know) you are coming...
Aunque vengas = Even if you came...
I think this answers your question.
I think that if you don't learn the subjunctive mode they understand you fine. And if you always sound like a foreigner is fine with you then good job I say. (Joking to make a point)
But seriously, why would you want to cut corners? First of all, the subjunctive is not optional. There are very many things you can't say well at all without it.
Translate this sentence for me: I want us to arrive early.
Quiero que lleguemos temprano.
That's my version using the subjunctive. Now you try it without, using a sentence that doesn't make you sound illiterate.
And the thing is, the subjunctive isn't that difficult. It's not at all the beast everyone makes it out to be. And it's really quite fun, and helps you feel proud of your progress at learning Spanish.
By all means...learn the subjunctive!
Beatrice, I hope I am communicating with all of your personalities just to avoid having to say this numerous times.
There are many times when the use of subjunctive is determined by the speaker depending on the nuance he/she wishes to imply. There are also times when subjunctive is necessary and if forgotten, people will be forgiving. Then again there are times when subjunctive is so necessary that omitting it will sound rediculous and create much laughter on the part of your listeners.
I suggest you divide up the various levels of need of subjunctive among your various personalities and you´ll do just fine.
Beatrice, if you don't know how to use Subjunctive, you can't say you are able to speak 95% of the Spanish language. It's impossible. But, if you say that you are that good except for the Subjunctive part, why not bother to become better and fluent with all the aspects?
I frequently get it wrong when I don't want to take the time to pause and use the subjunctive, although I am understood very well from the native speakers. My question: does this happen alot to anyone else? Also, is it really annoying to I think that it would be a mistake to simply avoid the subjunctive altogether.
I would say that, yes, in most if not all cases, the subjunctive is actually necessary to properly convey the desired idea. It may seem difficult now, but the more you expose yourself to the language, the more natural it will seem to you. In any case, if you are interested, I have constructed a small paragraph in English that might approximate the effect ignoring the subjunctive has on your message:
Subjunctive:
I would like for you to consider the following sentences. I don't want you to get the wrong idea, but even though you might be understood without the subjunctive, I doubt that you are making the impression that you might like to.
Subjunctive ignored:
I would like you are considering the following sentences. I don't want you are getting the wrong idea, but even though you are understood without the subjunctive, you are making the impression you like to, I doubt.
I hope that by comparing the sentences above, it might give you some idea as to what it might sound like to a native speaker when the subjunctive is ignored. Sure, it is sometimes possible to decipher the message even when the wrong tense or mood is used, but communication is smoother for both the speaker and listener if the proper forms are used. I suppose that ultimately the choice is up to you, but before I post this, I would like to leave you with one small admonishment:
Learn the subjunctive you naughty girl!!!
It's not as tough as you think! (but we'll all love ya just the same whatever you decide to do)
There you go—a scathing, touchy-feely tongue lashing all rolled up into one neat package. 
I completely agree with Culé and Heidi. I think you think that you understand the 95 per cent. If you are unable to use subjunctive, you're probably missing much more than you think. It's one thing to know the meaning of the words, and it's a very different thing to understand the feeling of what someone is saying.
In Spanish subjunctive is used all the time, for you really to be able to convey 95 percent of what you want to say without using it at all seems improbable to me. I suppose the learning of the language should happen altogether, in a balanced way, otherwise it will sound really strange.
Edited: Thanks, Webdunce!!
Ha! Welcome to the club! I have one hurdle left to jump in Spanish (aside from learning more idiomatic expressions and vocabulary) and that's the subjunctive! It doesn't seem to pose any communications problems - it just sounds a bit off to a native speaker.
But you're not alone. The subjunctive seems to be the toughest thing to grasp in Spanish for me.
Beatrice:
You don;t really have to "study' the subjunctive.
Transcribe your favorite novel (you already read it) from Spanish to English, looking up for words you don;t understand, and you'll get the gist of it without even knowing you are using the subjunctive. You will just do it, because "it makes sense" to use it.
read my blog please:
Also, is it really annoying to natives when I decide to be lazy and skip the subjunctive?
I am laughing my head off at Julian's comment, amor mio, eres el mejor 
And I am stunned that you should say, hey, my Spanish is so good that I can understand and use 95% of the language. 
there is no way at all that you can do that, this is like not using prepositions correctly in your language, great stuff, very funny thread Beatrice, you have made my day
Beatrice, not everyone has time to answer your question, but I would say keep on truckin and make your subjunctive the best mood ever.
I will watch this question so I can learn what a Subjunctive even is. 
When I'm talking it gets annoying when I have to look up rules and and then the verb in question.
no estás sola
It isn't necessary to understand the subjunctive to order a beer or ask where the bathroom is, although you often run into the imperative even in these simple circumstances and may even encounter the subjunctive if hings aren't going smoothly. The rest of Spanish is optional.
For me "O Sea" means "that is"
Mis compañeros, o sea, Juan y Pedro - My colleagues, that is, John and Peter.
