When to use "de que" in sentences?

Question

In some cases where the subjunctive is used, they use the relative pronoun "que" and in others "de que". Why? And what does the "de" stand for in those sentences? Please help me understand, and if possible, give examples. Thanks.

Answer 1

Hi Lydia I don't think it's so much the 'de que' that you need to know about but just that some verbs are always followed by 'de'.

Here's some examples

acabar de to have just (done something)

acordarse de to remember to

acusar de to accuse of

alegrarse de to be happy, pleased to

arrepentirse de to regret

avergonzarse de to be ashamed of

cansarse de to tire (get tired) of

cesar de to stop

convencerse de to become convinced

cuidar de to take care, be careful to

dejar de to stop; to fail to

disuadir de to dissuade from

encargarse de to take charge of

guardarse de to take care, be careful not to

hartarse de to be fed up with

jactarse de to boast about

lamentarse de to bemoan

olvidarse de to forget to

parar de to stop

preocuparse de to be concerned about

presumir de to boast about

quejarse de to complain about

terminar de to stop

tratar de to try to

tratarse de to be about, be a question of

Now for the 'que' part it's just like 'that' in English but where we can sometimes drop the 'that' you need it in Spanish to join two parts of a sentence together.

Eg:

Alegrarse de:

Me alegro de que puedas venir.

I'm happy that you can come.

There are other times when de is needed and your ear will just get used to them as time goes on if you're able to immerse yourself in the language:

Hay una posibilidad de que no haya agua.

There's a possibiity that there is no water.

PS Re the examples that Annie gave the 'de' carries a meaning similar to 'about' - About what shall we talk? De que hablamos? About what are you thinking? De que estás pensando etc :) - Kiwi-Girl, Dec 22, 2011

I think I've just added confusion..It's Christmas, confusion is rife. Thanks kiwi, you explain well1 - annierats, Dec 23, 2011

Answer 2

I think Lydia want s to know why the DE is in front of the que.. Or not. ¿De que hablamos? ¿De que estamos pensando? Puede ser que estoy equivocada, siempre hay algo.

true Annie and there are lots of reasons, one of them (the one I was illustrating) is that lots of verbs need to be followed by 'de' but you're quite right there are other times it get used too, as I mentioned at the bottom of my post ;) - Kiwi-Girl, Dec 22, 2011

but I'll add a ps as your examples are good ones :) - Kiwi-Girl, Dec 22, 2011

I focused on the verbs because she mentioned using 'de que' with the subjunctive - Kiwi-Girl, Dec 22, 2011

I think you're right kiwii, trying to do too much xmass preparations at the same time,jhopeless! - annierats, Dec 23, 2011

lol no worries yr examples were good too :) - Kiwi-Girl, Dec 23, 2011

Answer 3

There are a number of expressions that use the subjunctive where the "de" is optional. I'm sure there are many more, but off the top of my head I know that these expressions are examples: "antes (de) que", después (de) que y "con tal (de) que"

I'll have to check Pescador but I thought that the 'de' in antes de que was not optional if followed by the subjunctive I thought it was a set phrase? But I could be wrong, I so often am je je :) - Kiwi-Girl, Dec 22, 2011

yep I'm wrong lol - apparently 'a fin de que' and 'en caso de que' always need the 'de' but you were right 'antes de que' can be shortened to 'antes que' - gracias por enseñarme :) - Kiwi-Girl, Dec 22, 2011

http://users.ipfw.edu/jehle/courses/subjadv.htm - I love this guys work :) - Kiwi-Girl, Dec 22, 2011

gacias por el enlace. - pescador1, Dec 22, 2011

de nada, I hope you find it useful :) - Kiwi-Girl, Dec 22, 2011

Answer 4

You might find this article helpful too about when que or de que follows a noun.

Que translates "that" as a relative pronoun, while 'de que' translates "that" as a conjunction.

Almost always, if you can change "that" to "which" and the sentence still makes sense, "that" is being used as a relative pronoun and you should use que. Otherwise, use de que.

Examples:

Es una nación que busca independencia. It is a country that/which is seeking independence.

No hay factores de riesgo que se puedan identificar para la diabetes tipo 1. There are no risk factors that/which can be identified for Type 1 diabetes.

El calcio reduce el riesgo de que el bebé nazca con problemas de peso. Calcium reduces the risk that the baby is born with weight problems.

Hay señales de alarma de que un niño está siendo abusado. There are warning signs that a child is being abused.