Confusing use of Subjunctive
So I have heard a few times the subjunctive tense be used in a weird way (or at least seems weird to me. It's when it is used at the beginning of a sentence. Such as "Cuando te vaya..." Heard it in a song. I originally translated that as when you leave, but the usage confused me and I didn't know if that's what it really meant. I know the subjunctive is used for commands. So something like "no te vaya" would be equal to don't leave. However the cuando in front of what seemed like a subjunctive phrase confused me. Can someone explain?
5 Answers
It's not much to go on, but most likely is it should be "Cuando te vayas." You just need to know that some words and phrases indicate that the subjunctive is always used, and some indicate that it is used when you are using them a certain way. For example, for cuando:
"Cuando salgas, apaga la luz"--> "When you leave." Cuando here is used to indicate an action that hasn't taken place yet. The subjunctive is used in cases like this one.
"Cuando voy a la casa de mis abuelos, siempre me dan galletas." "When I go"--> In this sentence, Cuando is used not to indicate something that will happen, rather what always happens when I do a certain thing.
In a way, deciding between the subjunctive and indicative here is like trying to decide between preterite and imperfect, but in the future. For habitual actions/results, the indicative is used, and when it is something specific that is upcoming, the subjunctive is used. Hopefully this makes at least a little bit of sense.
If it is "When you leave" it should probably be "cuando te vayas" not "cuando te vaya," right?
I think BigMike had the right idea, but I would make some comments here and there.
To say: " For habitual actions/results, the indicative is used" is true, but I think it is also used to tell about something that happened in the past as well. E.g., Cuando era niño ("When I was a child").
Also, the comment: "when it is something specific that is upcoming, the subjunctive is used," is, I think, partially correct. As others have mentioned, the subjunctive is the mood of uncertainty, so it's not used for something "specific," but rather for something uncertain, and, as we all know, the future is always uncertain. That's why you use it is that instance.
So, in your example, "Cuando te vayas," could also be translated as: "whenever you go," in the sense of "when you leave (whenever that is)."
I just recently asked a question and I think the subject is worth bringing up hear as well. The subjunctive is also used in certain time phrases. While in this instance it is a bit easier to understand the logic behind the rule, some things must be memorized. Those phrases are usually impersonal or temporal. The temporal ones usually trip me up a bit. For instance, if you want to say "He died before I was born," you would have to say something like "murió antes de que yo naciera." This is an instance in which the subject is past referring, but it is in the subjunctive. The reason, I think, is that being "born" was a contingency that may not have happened. The death was certain, but at the time of the death the birth had not and might not have taken place. Those phrases like "antes de que" and despues de que" just need to be memorized and recognized as requiring the subjunctive, I guess.
I know a lot of what I said has been said in the other two posts, but I hope that further clarifies some of the things said before about some phrases that need to be memorized etc.
Just like what BigMike said here, you merely found a use of the subjunctive that expresses future. "Cuando te vayas, yo saldré también."
This use is meant to express the future with a sense of doubt because there isn't any way to know the future and tell for sure you're going. Does this make sense?
Also, please, please, please never call the subjunctive a command. Although some of the conjugations and ideas are very similar, they are not the same.
For example:
- Go to the store (mandato):
- Ve al súpermarcado.
- I want you to go to the store (subj):
- Quiero que vayas al súpermarcado.
- And here is where it get's really different, I want him to go to the store (subj):
- Quiero que él vaya al súpermarcado.
When thinking about it logically, you cannot command, say, your best friend to do something while only talking to me unless you say it vicariously, which still wouldn't be a command to your best friend, just me.
Di a mi mejor amigo que quiero que vaya al marcado. See what I mean?
That all makes plenty of sense! I know that the subjunctive can depend on certainty/uncertainty, habitual actions/results etc so it makes perfect sense that you would use that to express futuristic events that have not yet occurred. Thanks all!
Hola ashwad0024,
As you probably know, the subjunctive mood is used with certainty, doubt, or future expressions. If the sentence started with "Cuando yo vaya", then it probably uses the future tense right after.
¡Yo espero que ayudara! -Alejandro
