Help With This Subjunctive Sentence

Question

Hi everyone,

El médico me aconsejó que dejara de fumar The doctor advised me to quit smoking

I struggled for a while to figure out why they were using dejara. I realized afterwards that it was because the subjunctive mood was being triggered. However the word dejara is used only for the imperfect first and third tenses. So shouldn't it actually be: El médico me aconsejó que deje de fumar (which is first person present subjunctive)?

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Answer 1

I think I answered my own question here. It's because the doctor advised me (in the past) so dejar needs to agree with this tense. Someone please let me know if this is the reason.

Yes, this is basically the reason. The advice was given in the past and the action of that advice dejar de fumar had not yet happened, so it was a future action spoken about in the past - therefore, past subjunctive.

It is better to rely on an explanation of a particular subjunctive usage rather than a simple "trigger" that many people and textbooks use for teaching Spanish as a second language. In other uses of subjunctive we have the option of indicative or subjunctive depending on the desired nuance, so in these cases these "triggers" don´t work.

Nuances work well for native speakers and those who have attained fluency, but for beginners and even through advanced, "triggers" are necessary. - Daniela2041, Dec 15, 2016

Thanks, Julian. :) - rac1, Dec 15, 2016

JulianChivi you mentioned that it was a future action spoken about in the past but I don't quite follow that explanation - if it was a future action then the world should conjugate as dejare (1st person future subjunctive). Could you elaborate a bit more? - TryNewLangs77, Dec 15, 2016

No. It doesn't mean it needs to have a future conjugation, it means that the intention was planned in the future. (Because it has not happened yet.) - Oshnaj, Dec 16, 2016

JulianChivi / Daniela2041 - What you mentioned about nuances vs "triggers" - I think that would apply here: http://www.spanishdict.com/answers/287931/sharpening-my-subjunctive-kung-fu - TryNewLangs77, Dec 16, 2016

Answer 2

This is interesting. Both forms work and of course, they give different meanings.

1. El médico me aconsejó que deje de fumar. (= the person was advised to quit smoking and he/she will do it eventually.)
2. El médico me aconsejó que dejara de fumar. (= this is what it should've happened, but I didn't do it.)

Now, in a deep sense, the second utterance is not always a criticism. It depends on the context.

For example: suppose you were told to call a person one day and you did it, then you are told me pediste que te llamara. Since the call was already done, the subjunctive is used to show an attitude in front of the person.

Answer 3

You are correct. The past tense in the independent clause triggers the past subjunctive (or imperfect subjunctive) in the dependent clause.

Answer 4

I think I answered my own question here. It's because the doctor advised me (in the past) so dejar needs to agree with this tense. Someone please let me know if this is the reason.

Answer 5

As a spanish speaker I can tell you that both forms seems right to me, I think that both means the same, I would use both.