Subjunctive and translators

Question

I am trying to say, "I hope that you(group) can visit Spain soon." in Spanish.

I think it would be, "Espero que puedan visitar España pronto."

I find that the online translators normally put the verb in the second clause in the "indicative", ie.."pueden". They don't seem to recognize the trigger phrases for the subjunctive like "Espero que."

Also, I have trouble with the online translators recognizing the third person plural form. They normally default to third person singular. In this case I am talking to a group. Is there another way to say "you" in English to get the translators to recognize 3rd person plural?

Thanks in advance.

Welcome to SD - please complete your SD profile. - ian-hill, Mar 2, 2016

Try this - "I hope that you all can visit Spain soon." - ian-hill, Mar 2, 2016

And could you please fill out your profile giving gender and language levels. They are very important to us. - Daniela2041, Mar 2, 2016

Answer 1

Hola, Ayudame:

You are correct in your second sentence. You have used the "ustedes" or formal form.

For the informal "vosotros" you could use "Espero que pronto podáis visitar España."

(I relocated "pronto" --personal preference.)

Regarding third person plural, you're correct that in Spanish "ustedes" takes a third person plural verb form. However to most English speakers "you (group)" or you (pl.) is considered second person plural. In Spanish "ustedes" is taken from "vuestras mercedes" (your mercies) which is grammatically third person plural.

Some fun, huh?