Subjunctive / is clause "Es necesario que " Indicative or Subjunctive?

Question

I thought if you were expressing the concrete that it would be Indicative however on a test I answered that the above clause was Indicative and got it wrong. Am I missing something?

The complete sentence is: Es necesario que tú lo comprendas.

According a quiz on this site it states that the above is subjective. I am confused. I thought if believed to be concrete and true it is Indicative.

Another sentence I thought was Indicative was: Es necesario que tu esposo lo escriba. And I got that question wrong on quiz as well. Thank you in advance.

Answer 1

This is just a clause that normally preceeds a subjunctive clause. Maybe the test question asked about the entire sentence, but in any case the clause you have here is indicative.

comprendas, indicative????? - chileno, Jul 21, 2014

Answer 2

I assume the question is about what follows “es necesario que” (which itself is indicative)

When you are expressing an opinion about the clause that follows, rather than declaring it, it tends to be subjunctive.

Saying something is necessary does not mean it is going to happen or happens, just rendering an opinion about it.

Es necesario que limpies tu cuarto. It is necessary that you clean your room.

That is an opinion- it doesn’t mean your room will end up clean. Just that I think it is a necessity that you clean. It doesn't even speak to whether it happens/will happen at all.

Contrast that to

Creo que limpias tu cuarto (de vez en cuando).

I am declaring that you clean your room (from time time). You may or may not, but for me it is a reality, I truly believe that you clean your room every once in a while.

:) - FELIZ77, Jul 20, 2014

Answer 3

Another use of subjunctive is with some impersonal expressions like "es necesario que", "es probable que"etc.

For example : es probable que lleguen tarde, es necesario que estudies. Etc.

These impersonal expressions indicate doubt, disbelief, uncertainty, necessity, emotion, denial, opinion, suggestion etc.

They are called impersonal expressions as they don't have a specefic subject.

Here are some common impersonal expressions for you which require the use of subjunctive in the subordinate clause :

1.Es necesario que. 2.Es probable que. 3.Conviene que.(It is advisable that) 4.Es dudoso que. 5.Es preciso que. 6.Es importante que. 7.Es increíble que (it is unbelievable that). 8.Es imposible que. 9.Es inútil que.(it is useless that). 10.Es lástima que. 11.Es mejor que. 12.Es posible que. 13.Es una pena que.(it is a pity that). 14.Es útil que. (It is useful that). 15.más vale que (it is better that). 16.Ojalá que. 17. Parece mentira que (it seems unreal that) 18. Parece que.

Just learn these impersonal expressions by heart and always use the subjunctive mood in the following subordinate clause ..

Es necesario que (yo) ya desayune porque tengo muchísimo hambre ... hehe .... disfrutes .. enjoy

but these impersonal phrases are just the tip of an immense ice birg .. the whole subjunctive is tooooo massive to be discussed on a single post .. - 00b055e0, Jul 19, 2014

Answer 4

But also note that what I have stated above is not true for all the impersonal expressions .. as there are some that would call for the use of indicative ...

Constructions wih impersonal expressions indicating certainty or that leave no room for a doubt are followed by que plus a verb in the indicative.

For example : es cierto que somos felices.

Impersonal expressions followed by indicative include the following :

1. Es cierto que.
2. Es verdad que.
3. está comprobado que.
4. No hay duda que.