Herramientas de la lengua
Subjunctive: Adjective Clauses
Why do you want to know this?
The subjunctive in adjective clauses is very useful to talk about unknowns. You want to practice how and when to use it so you can be more accurate when expressing yourself.
- 1. Adjective clauses
Adjective clauses are clauses that function like an adjective. Consider these sentences:
- Yo tengo un perro pequeño (What kind of dog? = a little one)
- Yo quiero un perro que no ladre (What kind of dog? = one that does not bark)
The clause “Que no ladre” is functioning like an adjective! So in our trencito chuchú it would look like this:
2. What triggers the subjunctive?
Two things happen that result on us needing to use the subjunctive in an adjective clause:
First, There are two clauses with two different subjects
Second, The engine clause introduces an element that is indefinite, vague, or hypothetical,
Consider these two sentences:
- Tengo un amigo que juega tenis
- Necesito un amigo que juegue tenis
When we change the engine clause from have to need, the second friend is hypothetical.
Para recordar – Conjugación del presente subjuntivo
Some things to remember:
There are a some of verbs that change their root or spelling in the conditional. You can always consult a dictionary or this verb conjugator to find answers. If you want to get into the subjunctive deeper, you can read more about it here
¡Practiquemos!
¡Hola! A continuación tienes algo para practicar. Debes lograr al menos 80% ¡Suerte!
Para recordar – Conjugación del imperfecto subjuntivo
Mi mamá quería que…
There are some of verbs that change their root or spelling in the conditional. You can always consult a dictionary or this verb conjugator to find answers. If you want to get into the subjunctive deeper, you can read more about it here
¡Practiquemos!
¡Hola! A continuación tienes algo para practicar. Debes lograr al menos 80% ¡Suerte!
This unit “El subjuntivo – Adjective Clauses” was created by Alegría Ribadeneira by combining original material and sections about verbs from Spanish411.net, licensed CC BY-NC-SA and Spanish Grammar Manual by Enrique Yépez licensed CC BY-NC-SA
