Question about "cuando"?

Question

We are doing an activity in my AP spanish class that wants us to conjugate verbs into the tense that makes the best sense.

Cuando yo no tengo planes, yo me aburro. Cuando yo no tengo planes, yo me aburra.

Which would make more sense with Cuando, since it sometimes signals subjunctive?

Indicative, but without the yos. - lorenzo9, Sep 8, 2011

Welcome to the forum, :) - 00494d19, Sep 8, 2011

Thank you :), and i only included the yo's because that's the sentence we were given, I know they aren't neccessary. - DavidRyan, Sep 8, 2011

Answer 1

I think it only requires subjunctive when it refers to the future.

Usamos cuando + subjuntivo en las oraciones temporales que expresan futuro:

Cuando tenga tiempo, iré a verte.

Usamos cuando + indicativo para expresar presente o pasado:

Cuando salgo del trabajo, me gusta dar un paseo.

• From "Aprende 2" published by sgel

That was my first thouh too, but If i translated it through it says "when i don't have plans I become bored", so I don't feel like its apparent that I would ever not have plans. - DavidRyan, Sep 8, 2011

I don't think you can use "Cuando" to say that you would never not have plans, just like in English you would never say "When" with something impossible. - rabbitwho, Sep 8, 2011

When Hell freezes over! - lorenzo9, Sep 8, 2011

That's not impossible Lorenzo! It will happen as soon as I speak perfect Spanish! - rabbitwho, Sep 8, 2011

lol :D - territurtle, Sep 8, 2011

Answer 2

I agree that it's indicative.

Answer 3

From "Aprende 2" published by sgel

That's the general idea... for the present, not the imperfect, although later you will learn when to use present subjunctive for the past too.

Answer 4

Cuando yo no tengo planes, yo me aburro.

Using the first "yo" could be regarded as strange, if it is not used in the right context, but using two "yo" in the same sentence is just completely out of the question. Your sentence sounds like:

When I and no one else have plans, I and no one else get bored.

You can't say "I and no one else" every second. It sounds weird. In Spanish, personal pronouns are only used in this sense, so use them only when you mean "and no one else", which only happens 1% of the time.