Friday, February 10, 2012

How does the subjunctive in Spanish translate into English?

First off, what is the purpose of the subjunctive? I know that it relates two subjects, but why is the subjunctive used instead of the present indicative? E.g. How would this sentence translate:

隆Ojal谩 que tengas muchos amigos!

Ojala means I hope, but why can't you say Ojalo que tienes muchos amigos? Is there supposed to be a different emphasis with the subjunctive?How does the subjunctive in Spanish translate into English?
The subjunctive tense is used to state something that is not factual or certain...for example...



I hope the test is easy.



You don't know if the test will be easy or not, so you use the subjunctive. You will often hear it used when expressing fear or doubt.



隆Ojal谩 que tengas muchos amigos!

I hope you have many friends!



Once again, you do not know if the person has friends or not. You are only hoping/wishing/doubting...How does the subjunctive in Spanish translate into English?
Ojal谩 means "hopefully" more than "I hope," so you cannot conjugate it to ojalo.

You use subjunctive in this situation because it is not certain if you have lots of friends or not.
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