To subjunctive is human.. To indicative is divine... ¡!

Question

Dioses no usan el subjuntivo. ¿ No es así ? Saber lo que pasará. No lo necesitan. ¿ No es así ? ¡!

Answer 1

Given this rule I must be a God. lol.

I don't know about God, but you are definitely a hoot, gringo! - AnnRon, May 26, 2015

Answer 2

I am in a "subjunctive mood" today. Ay!

Estoy de muy malas pulgas hoy. ¡Ay!

Not really. Just having fun. - Daniela2041, May 26, 2015

That's the kind of face I get when I think about the subjunctive... ;-) - Faldaesque, May 26, 2015

The subjunctive is a "piece of cake" I will be teaching all about it in my Spanish 102 class next semester. - Daniela2041, May 26, 2015

I don't know about "a piece of cake" more like a mouthful and a 3 inch thick verb conjugation book. :) - ian-hill, May 26, 2015

Much easier in English and no verb book needed. - ian-hill, May 26, 2015

You should be in my class. You would get it with out the 3 inch thick verb conjugation book. You're right about the English, though. It's practically non- existant in US Enlgish. - Daniela2041, May 27, 2015

Answer 3

Pero los dioses o Dios su mismo no saben que van a hacer sus criaturas con albedrío, por eso no creo que tengas razón. Dijo Tomás Aquino (yo) a Erasmus (tú).

Kind of unrelated it brings to mind my question of if God (if there is one or a number of them) perfect? - Sassette, May 26, 2015

Pah, pesky philosophers & their 'free will', always muddying the waters... ;-) - Faldaesque, May 26, 2015

"The "Force" be with you, Luke! :) And people criticize me for my Judeo-Christian posts. Wow! - Daniela2041, May 26, 2015

Answer 4

Dios en el Antiguo Testamento usaba el subjuntivo, pero en el Nuevo Testamento no.

God in the Old Testament used the subjunctive, but not in the New Testament.

Interesting...makes one think about it. :) - rac1, May 26, 2015

If Jesus is not God this is true because (barring Revelations where I will not go) God (the Father) only said something to the effect of "This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased" no subjunctive. - Jubilado, May 26, 2015

The Book of Revelation is not T H A T hard. And it does tell us who finally wins! - Daniela2041, May 26, 2015

But now, it's just lol and pictures, you know, the dancing woman, the smiley face, the beating heart.. - annierats, May 27, 2015

Answer 5

I know that this was written in jest, but:

The concept that subjunctive only reflects a lack of knowledge is not correct.

Quería que mi esposa fuera a la gasolinera ayer para comprar gasolina para el cortacésped.

I wanted my wife to go to the gas station yesterday to buy gas for the lawnmower.

(She didn’t, hopefully she does today, but I know for a fact she didn't)

Of now I hear the argument that God would have known she wouldn't and so would have no false hope. ;) - bosquederoble, May 26, 2015

Yep, I made a comment above before I saw this excellent reply. At times it utterly changes what didn't happen..... - annierats, May 27, 2015

She did get me gas yesterday, but I wrote this on monday. :D - bosquederoble, May 27, 2015

Answer 6

Jubilado:

Al menos Cristo sí usaba el subjuntivo:

Santificado sea tu Nombre.

Venga a nosotros tu Reino.

Hágase, Señor, tu voluntad así en la tierra como en el cielo.

No nos dejes caer en tentación.

hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come,

your will be done.

And lead us not into temptation.

The subjunctive is also used to express a wish or a fear.

Saludos.

Luis, if the use of the subjunctive is correct after "no saber" please make a confirmation here or in my post about it. And I like your post here of course! - Jubilado, May 26, 2015

The subjunctive is used when you express a guess. So, in general it is used after "no saber", but I think it is not a rule. - LuisCache, May 26, 2015

Answer 7

Esto también podría aplicarse a los psíquicos de habla hispana, ¿no?

This might also apply to Spanish-speaking psychics, no?

¿Y porqué necesitan los psíquicos carteles para saber dónde y cuándo sus congresos? - Jubilado, May 26, 2015

Answer 8

Como sabemos todos los ingléses Diós habla inglés y como tiene que escribir enpiedra, algo que tarda mucho tiempo creo que ya solo escribe emociones .

As all Englishmen know God speaks English. As he has to write in stone, which is very laborious, I think he now only uses emotions.

Answer 9

In my first post I said "...no saben que van a hacer sus criaturas...." I should have written: No saben que vayan a hacer sus criaturas. At least that is my conclusion because:

Acabo de recibir un email de un sacerdote colombiano a quien conozco y me ecribió:

"Y no se donde este viviendo" (él no usó tildes escritos). Busqué en varias partes para aprender si "No saber algo" requiere el subjuntivo y no puedo hallar nada de esto. Considero su email como un regalo de Dios.

I just received an email from a Colombian priest I know and he wrote to me:

"Y no se donde este viviendo" (he didn't use written accents). I looked all over to learn if "No saber algo" requires the subjunctive and I couldn't find anything about this. I consider his email a gift from God.

Native speakers: Is my conclusion correct? Falda, If no responses we should look into this further.

No saber "que" does require the subjunctive. - Daniela2041, May 26, 2015

Answer 10

A question for native Spanish-speakers: Does a non-native speaker's failure to use the subjunctive ever really cause any confusion ?

For example, I can't really discern any difference in meaning between 'Quizás haya mucho trafico en la careterra' and 'Quizás hay mucho trafico en la careterra'. Don't they both simply mean, 'Maybe there will be a lot of traffic on the road' ?

In fact, the subjunctive is kind of redundant here because 'quizás' already expresses the uncertainty. Thus we have 'double uncertainty' (but if Spanish uses double negatives, then why not double uncertainty ?). In English we could say, 'It's possible that there might be a lot of traffic on the road': double uncertainty.

Dani's post is right: the subjunctive is a 'mood', therefore it's really about giving the verb a certain colour, feel or nuance without actually altering its meaning.

Although in English it's true that we don't use the subjunctive much in the sense of a different set of conjugations, nonetheless, we can lend 'mood' to our expressions by other means.

However, is the subjunctive really 'necessary' or 'required' ? I've spent a fair amount of time in Tunisia, where most folk speak French as a second language (it's widely used in government, business and tourism). While there I noted a clear differentiation in terms of French usage. Some Tunisians speak French as well as Parisians. Others use it more basically (yet nonetheless fluently), and for these more basic speakers the subjunctive seems optional. It seems some of them care not to use it at all, just as they don't really seem to bother much about using the correct gender for nouns - yet nonetheless they can make themselves understood perfectly in that language.

Yes, I think ifyou think of : Si fuera posible lo habría hecho. or something like that.. In the indicative it makes no sense. - annierats, May 27, 2015