The mysterious use of "que" in sentence structure.

Question

As a beginner, there's been a couple of times that I've noticed "que" mysteriously appearing in sentences (well it is a mystery to me, but most likely due to ignorance). Can someone point me to a lesson or tell me a rule or show me a discussion that describes a usage such as:

I want you to be happy. "Quiero que seas feliz."

My novice Spanish tells me that "you to be" would just be "seas", but then there's that "que" in the sentence. Is it because of the subjunctive tense (which I haven't yet studied)? If so, is the literal meaning of "que" in this sense "who"?

Answer 1

"Quiero que seas feliz." is literally "I want that you be happy"

so que is a simple conjunction (that) in this case.

... and yes, we're using Subjunctive mood here, as well as in English.

If we didn't bother using subjunctive in English, we would get the (incorrect) sentence, "I want that you are happy". You might hear this incorrect English from foreign students of English, or very young children, but you would likely say it correctly without realizing that you're making use of Subjunctive mood.

¡Buena respuesta! - NickDan, Jun 6, 2011

That "que" in "Quiero que seas feliz" is not a relative pronoun, but a conjunction. - lazarus1907, Jun 6, 2011

Ah ... yes ... subjunctive. :D - dougellis, Jun 6, 2011

Thanks, Lazarus. - pesta, Jun 6, 2011

Answer 2

In English, "that" is frequently ommited. In Spanish, rarely. In English one can say, "I have the book you want" or "I have the book that you want", and one usually omits the "that" in these types of sentences. In Spanish, the que is rarely ommitted, except when the subject of both the primary verb and the secondary verb are the same: "Quiero hacerlo" (I want to do it), but "Quiero que lo hagas" (I want you to do it/I want that you do it).

Thank you, Jeremias, for making this point. Speaking only of English, the use (or overuse) of "that" in every instance where it may be technically acceptable can actually detract from flow and readability. - TejanoViejo, Jun 6, 2011

Answer 3

It is easy. A simple sentence has only one verb:

Veo casas. = I see houses.

A complex sentence has more than two verbs, and one clause can embedded into another, often linked with conjunctions (e.g. "que" in Spanish, "that" in Englihs) and other words, although in English some of them can be omitted:

Veo que has venido = I see (that) you've come.

For example, in

Did you see the man that came in?

you don't normally omit the "that" (which is a relative pronoun this time, not a conjunction), right? In Spansish these "que" (=that) are extremely rarely omitted, and many grammars recommend against it anyway. That's the mystery of this "que": to embed sentences within sentences.

Excellent, concise explanation; however, in the second example, when speaking of people (in English), would we not generally substitute the relative pronoun "who" for "that," i.e., "the man 'who' came in"? - TejanoViejo, Jun 6, 2011

Or (ahem) am I just being stuffy and old-fashioned? ; ) - TejanoViejo, Jun 6, 2011

Answer 4

"que" has so many uses:

To show obligation:

Tengo que comer. I have to eat.

As a relative pronoun:

La casa, que es blanca... The house, which is white...

Sé que... I know that...

Tengo el libro que quieres. I have the book that you want.

El carro que quiero es rojo. The car that I want is red.

Las personas que trabajan aquí... The people that work here...

Y mucho más!

¡Buena respuesta! - NickDan, Jun 6, 2011

That "que" in "Quiero que seas feliz" is not a relative pronoun, but a conjunction. - lazarus1907, Jun 6, 2011

Ok... I removed that part from my explanation... thanks! - Tosh, Jun 6, 2011