Subjunctive connectors- not cuando?

Question

I know for the subjunctive you need a relative pronoun to connect the main and subordinate clauses and the relative pronouns listed are usually que, quien, como, and el cual.

I had the question after we learned "me frustra que..." if they could say "me frustra cuando..." and I wasn't sure. I can't seem to find a definite answer anywhere, but my collegue said when she uses cuando she feels it is a definite circumstance and when she uses que it makes it a little less clear of who or when so the subjunctive is used.

Before I go back and answer the question I want to know, is this a correct explanation or can the subjunctive be used in both situations?

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Answer 1

I have always learned with cuando that if what follows has already happened, or is a recurring action that has happened in the past, even if it will happen again, it is indicative, and if it refers to something that is yet to happen, it takes subjunctive.

Clearly me frusta que is followed by subjunctive, as it relates how you feel about what follows happening. I think in the case of cuando, it is different, because you are not saying how you feel about that it happens but rather how you feel when it happens. It is subtle and I don’t know how to explain it better, except that “that it happens” is more direct influence from what follows than “when it happens”.

Anyway it does appear that the same rule is followed with cuando even in this case- at Linguee the first six sentences of the search all use indicative- none subjunctive (after that the matches are not me frustra cuando).

http://www.linguee.com/spanish-english/translation/me+frustra+cuando.html

(Go to the link to see the examples)

Reference on cuando:

http://spanish.about.com/od/verbmoods/a/cuando-subjunctive.htm

Either the indicative orsubjunctive mood can be used following cuando, the choice often depending on whether the action of the verb has been completed. As a subordinatingconjunction, cuando — usually translated as "when" or "whenever" — typically is followed by a verb in the indicative mood when that verb refers to something that has already occurred or is occurring in the present. The present includes referring to an event that has occurred and could continue to occur.

In contrast, the present-tense subjunctive mood typically is used when cuando comes before a verb referring to an event that has yet to occur.

Examples at the link are not really relevant to this.

Thanks! That makes a lot of sense! - f8ecfa6a66, Mar 24, 2016

De nada. :) - bosquederoble, Mar 24, 2016