To use future subjunctive or not?

Question

I want to say " It is not true that his life would be better if you did not exist" (weird sentence I know haha) would it be: No es verdad que su vida sería mejor si tú no existas

or No es verdad que su vida fuere mejor si tú no existas

I've never used futuro subjunctive before....

Answer 1

The future subjunctive is not really used anymore and the only place you can really find it is in old literature. Because of "no es verdad", you need the subjunctive. However, since es is the present tense, you need the present subjunctive, so "No es verdad que su vida sea mejor". I know that may seem like it doesn't capture the meaning of what you want to say, but your tenses have to agree. I'm also not sure that you actually need the subjunctive in "existir". Si clauses are strange in that they sometimes don't and sometimes do take the subjunctive but i could be wrong.

---

If you want to shorten your sentence though you could say: Su vida no seria (accent on i) mejor si no existiera. Your life would not be better if you didn't exist.

gracias :) - karinacocina, Feb 21, 2012

Answer 2

Hi! the sentence would be:

- "No es cierto que su vida sea mejor si tú no existieras."

- "No es cierto que su vida fuera mejor si tú no existieras."

In the case of positive it changes to:

- "Es cierto/verdad que su vida sería mejor si tú no existieras."

gracias :) - karinacocina, Feb 21, 2012

Hey, are you sure using the subjunctive form of "ser". I'm pretty sure that you just have to use it in the main clause and then "sería". - tombot, Feb 21, 2012

Oh and in the case of the positive change, we are not using the subjunctive anymore, because we are talking about a certainty ( see http://www.studyspanish.com/lessons/subj1.htm). Of course I'm open for discussions, about both my comments. Cheers Tom - tombot, Feb 21, 2012

Hey, I'm a native Spanish speaker and it'd be totally weird if someone says "No es cierto que... sería..." you say "No es cierto que sea así", "No es cierto que fuera así". I think "no es cierto/verdad" modifies the verb, unless it's a question with "No". - JuanPabloW, Feb 21, 2012

And a question with "no" would be "¿No es cierto que su vida sería mejor si tú no existieras?" (isn't it true that his life would be better if you did not exist?). Answers: -Sí, así es. -No, para nada. But this is an affirmation (: - JuanPabloW, Feb 21, 2012

In the case of the positive one, "Su vida sería mejor si tú no existieras", "(Es cierto que) Tu vida sería mejor si él no existiera", "(Es verdad que) Mi vida sería mejor si ella no existiera". - JuanPabloW, Feb 21, 2012

Answer 3

Hello karinacocina. I think that your first sentence is closer to what you want to say than the second one. I have to say that I've never heard of 'Future subjunctive'. I guess that's why Kimbos mentioned it earlier. Personally, I would stick to the conditional (sería) in your first sentence as (fuera) is one of the past tenses. Also I would use the infinitive (existir) at the end, thus giving you: "No es verdad que su vida sería mejor si tú no existir". Hope that this third answer isn't too confusing! All the best...Jool.

Sorry, slipped up on the last verb. Should have been: 'existieras'. I'll now go and stick my head in a bucket of water until my brain gets better!!! - jool, Feb 22, 2012

Answer 4

Hey,

in this case, the use of the subjunctive is perfectly fine, because your expressing an uncertainty/personal opinion. And Furthermore "No es verdad" or "No es cierto" is one of the phrases, normally linked to the usage of the subjunctive. For some additional Theory see also: http://www.spanishdict.com/topics/show/97 or: http://www.studyspanish.com/lessons/subj1.htm

But actually the correct answer should be:

No es cierto que su vida sería mejor si tú no existieras.

(We are obviously having a conditional sentence and if the main clause "si tú no existieras" is in the past, we have to use the conditional "sería").

Cheers, Tom