How well do you know your own language?

How much grammar can you handle? How well do you know YOUR OWN language?

Spanish has seven simple tenses, made up of only one verb and seven compound tenses, made up of the combination of two verbs. Add to that the imperative and the subjunctive – and life as you know it, has become quite complex…. especially, when the subjunctive is a mood and not a tense.

And do these even exist in English? Can you understand and/or relate to them?
In general, the subjunctive is a verb mood that is used to express an action or state of being in the context of the speaker's reaction to it. Mostly (although not always), the subjunctive mood is used in dependent clauses introduced by ‘que’ (which, that, who) when the main clause expresses a wish, a strong emotional attitude, or an uncertainty.

Frequently, the sentences that contain a subjunctive verb are used to express doubt, uncertainty, denial, desire/wish, commands, reactions or a strong emotional attitude to the clause containing the subjunctive verb. Compare the following two sentences: Indicative: Sé que María duerme. (I know that María sleeps or is sleeping) Subjunctive: Wish= Espero que María duerma. (I hope that María is sleeping), Desire= Le ruego a María que duerma (I beg María that she go to bed). Doubt= Dudo que duerma (I doubt that she is sleeping).

The subjunctive has four tenses: present subjunctive, present perfect subjunctive, imperfect subjunctive, and past perfect (or pluperfect) subjunctive. Which form to use depends on two factors: the tense of the verb in the main clause & the time relationship between the verb in the dependent clause and the subjunctive verb.

So, when your child comes home pulling his/her out saying “Argg, I hate the subjunctive!”…. just give him/her a hug and a cup of hot chocolate.

Srta. Frumin