Cuando, subjuntivo o indicativo?
Hello everyone! i have a quesiton about sentences with "cuando". I mean, when you make a sentence as "when you need help..." is it like "cuando necesitas ayuda...or cuando necesites ayuda..."?
4 Answers
Cuando necesites ayuda dime.
When you need help tell me. (anticipated action not yet a reality so can't be declared with the indicative mood so takes the subjunctive)
Cuando necesitas ayuda siempre lloriqueas.
When you need help you always whinge. (declaring a fact - uses the indicative mood)
Viejito is one of our resident verb teachers and has posted many lessons on verb useages. If you go here to his profile, you will be able to review them all.
Gracias viejito!!!
Subjunctive or indicative with "cuando" is determined by a condition or fact that might exist. The condition is, ie: "cuando llueve, los arboles se mojan " ... "when it rains, the trees become wet."
The same is true with "If clauses," ie ..... "Si llueve, no trabajamos" ... "If it rains, we don't work."
With these types of sentences we are not indicating any particular mood, but in other types where a nuance can be created by the speaker, subjunctive may or may not be chosen over indicative, so there are many times that relying on so-called "triggers" of subjunctive can produce a mood that you have not intended.
In your senario of "cuando necesitas/necesites ayuda" it´s impossible to determine which one to use because this is an incomplete sentence and there is not context. Depending on the feeling you want to impart, it could be either subjunctive or indicative.
This may help Others will answer.
