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8 questions · free · no signup

Does this sentence need the subjunctive?

Half of these need the subjunctive and half do not, which is the only honest way to test it. Read why after each one.

Eight questions, an explanation for every one, no signup.

  1. Question 1 of 8
    Quiero que ___ a la fiesta.
  2. Question 2 of 8
    Sé que ___ en casa.
  3. Question 3 of 8
    No creo que ___ verdad.
  4. Question 4 of 8
    Cuando ___, llámame.
  5. Question 5 of 8
    Busco un piso que ___ balcón.
  6. Question 6 of 8
    Es importante que ___ temprano.
  7. Question 7 of 8
    Me alegro de que ___ aquí.
  8. Question 8 of 8
    Es evidente que ___ cansado.

0 of 8 answered.

The answers, and why

No scrolling past a paywall and no email: here is every question with its answer and the reason behind it.

  1. Quiero que ___ a la fiesta.

    Answer: vengas (of vienes / vengas)

    Wanting someone else to do something: the second clause is a wish, not a fact.

  2. Sé que ___ en casa.

    Answer: está (of está / esté)

    Saber asserts that it is true, so the clause stays indicative.

  3. No creo que ___ verdad.

    Answer: sea (of es / sea)

    Negating creer withdraws the claim, so the clause is no longer asserted. Note that "Creo que es verdad" takes the indicative.

  4. Cuando ___, llámame.

    Answer: llegues (of llegas / llegues)

    Time clauses about something that has not happened yet take the subjunctive. "Cuando llegas" would describe a habit.

  5. Busco un piso que ___ balcón.

    Answer: tenga (of tiene / tenga)

    You are describing a flat that may not exist. If you had found it, it would be "el piso que tiene balcón".

  6. Es importante que ___ temprano.

    Answer: salgamos (of salimos / salgamos)

    Impersonal judgements like "es importante que" introduce something urged, not stated.

  7. Me alegro de que ___ aquí.

    Answer: estés (of estás / estés)

    Reacting emotionally to something takes the subjunctive, even though the fact itself is true — the clause is the object of your reaction, not a claim.

  8. Es evidente que ___ cansado.

    Answer: estás (of estás / estés)

    The trap. Most "es + adjective + que" phrases take the subjunctive, but the ones asserting certainty — evidente, obvio, verdad, cierto — keep the indicative.

Subjunctive: the rule that actually holds

The subjunctive is not an advanced tense you graduate to. It is what the second half of a sentence wears when that half is not being asserted as fact — when it is wanted, doubted, hoped for, reacted to, or not yet real. That is why "Sé que está en casa" stays indicative (you are claiming it is true) while "No creo que sea verdad" does not. And it is why "Cuando llegues" takes the subjunctive: your arrival has not happened yet.

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