Subjuctive vs. Indicative

Question

Could someone explain to me the difference between the subjunctive and the indicative'

Answer 1

Subjunctive: I hope (that) it will rain/Yo espero que llueva. Your not stating that it will rain. For all you know it might not rain. Therefore, the statement is indefinite.

Me alegra que vinieras

The other person definitely came, so it is not indefinite, and yet, it is subjunctive. The explanation is that we don't declare it, because we don't intend to inform about the other person coming, but simply mention it to make a statement about how we feel about it.

Answer 2

indicative=definite subjunctive=indefinite

Indicative: It will rain/lloverá . Your stating that it will rain, definitely.
Subjunctive: I hope (that) it will rain/Yo espero que llueva. Your not stating that it will rain. For all you know it might not rain. Therefore, the statement is indefinite.

Click on yipyip's link it'll show you the basics.

Answer 3

Indicative is used for declarations, i.e. when we want others to know what we think, guess, know,... about something.
Subjunctive is used when we don't declare things in subordinate clauses.

See previous posts to see more examples on how to use this "rule".

Answer 4

Check out this site's reference section, there is also a video lesson on it, too if you go through the course.

http://www.spanishdict.com/reference/verbs/subjunctive