The difference between subjunctive and indicative

Question

Can someone please tell me the difference between the subjunctive and the indicative, and please use sentences to example the differences between them?

Answer 1

Hey, KobeFan. Welcome to the forum!

This is too broad of a subject to explain by a few words.

You should study the lessons here under the "Learn" tab about the subjunctive and then come back with a specific question and example sentences.

Answer 2

I am using the information from this lesson.

The difference between indicative and subjunctive is the difference between certainty/objectivity (indicative) and possibility/subjectivity (subjunctive).

Indicative

John goes to the store.
(This sentence merely states the certain, objective fact that John goes to the store.)

I know that John goes to the store.
(The clause "I know" tells us that the speaker feels that it is a certain, objective fact that John goes to the store.)

There is no doubt that John goes to the store.
(The clause "there is no doubt" tells us that the speaker feels that it is a certain, objective fact that John goes to the store.)

Subjunctive

I want John to go to the store.
(The clause "I want" tells us that the speaker feels that there is uncertainty as to whether John goes to the store.)

I hope that John goes to the store. (The clause "I hope" tells us that the speaker feels that there is uncertainty as to whether John goes to the store.)

It is possible that John will go to the store. (The clause "it is possible" tells us that the speaker feels that there is uncertainty as to whether John goes to the store.)

It's good that John goes to the store. (The clause "it's good" alerts us that the speaker is about to express a subjective opinion.)

It's important that John goes to the store. (The clause "it's important" alerts us that the speaker is about to express a subjective opinion.)

There is much more to the subjunctive and I am only just beginning to learn but the lesson has a quiz and that, too helped me.

Our own Spanishdict.com lessons are found on this page.

Thank you! - 24--24, Nov 19, 2015

Answer 3

In a few basic words,

The subjunctive mood expresses uncertainty, personal emotions or wants, and subjectivity. We use this tense to avoid declaring something.

The indicative expresses certainty, objectivity, and is based on factulal information. We use this tense to declare something.

A tricky thing about spanish is that when we declare something, the indicative is used, and when we don't the subjunctive is used. For example:

Me alegro de que vayas a venir a mi casa.

Here you can see the subjunctive used, as we are not declaring anything at all. We are only expressing our feelings of happiness.

Me alegro porque vas a ir a mi casa.

Here the indicative is used because we are declaring that this is out reason for being happy.

As you can see the two sentance structures are almost identical, but the changing of a few words can completely change the meaning and also makes a difference between the subjunctive and indicative.

Very good explanation, thank you! - 24--24, Nov 19, 2015