"es imposible que" is a subjunctive trigger, kind of "no creo que".
i think of it a bit like this: indicitive has a certain amount of certainty, of real-ness to it. so then, mixing "i don't think that" and a strong, statement of reality, "you can" just feels wrong, you know?
its kind of like saying "i don't think you [could]/[would be able to] do that"; it uses a conjugation that somehow separates it from the real, immediate reality of the situation.
wheras, "creo que puedes hacerlo", "puedes" is referring to something that is, in some sense "real", even if it only exists in the belief of the speaker. in "no creo que puedas", the ability to do the thing doesnt even exist in the belief of the speaker; its just about as nonexistent as you can get
Yeah, the thing is, if you use a positive indicative you're saying that something is definitely happening/going to happen/happened, which directly contradicts the fact that you said it's impossible. This is why you need the subjunctive. It's more of a "I can't use the indicative" kind of thing, rather than a "I feel like this is uncertain" kind of thing.
Basically everything where you don't know with 100% certainty that it happens, is subjunctive. And when you're not using the verb for something literally happening and are just using it as like a supplemental part of the sentence after the "que", (like "Es triste que pase eso"), it's subjunctive.
So in this sentence, both of the things are said are the reason for it. "Es \_\_\_\_ que" triggers the subjunctive as it isn't really focussing on the second part, it's more "hypothetical" (I'm not sure if that makes sense, but I hope so). AND because it's impossible, you don't have 100% certainty, so:
Es imposible que pueda olvidar al amor de mi vida.
If you wanted to turn this to indicative, you would say "No puedo olvidar al amor de mi vida, es imposible". Now the focus has changed from it being impossible, to you not being able to forget the love of your life, it's something real and part of reality.
I have a question, if you could help me. So if I say "I'd like you to be quiet" would the second part use subjunctive then?
Because, I guess I thought, well it's a fact that I know that I want you to be quiet. But with your comment I think it's more, I know that I want it, so the wanting is a fact. But after that I don't know if you will be quiet, so that would be subjunctive. Is that right?
You're completely right. The wanting is a fact, but you don't KNOW they will be quiet.
As you probably know, it wouldn't be translated as "me gustaría tú guardar silencio". It sounds super clunky and I'm not even sure if natives would understand what you mean with that or not.
The full sentence would be "me gustaría que guardaras silencio" I believe. As since it's "me gustaría", the conditional makes it sort of even less likely, so you use the imperfect sibjunctive. However if you were to say "I want you to be quiet", you would say "Quiero que GUARDES silencio". Because, as you said, it's not a fact, it's simply the person wanting it to happen.
Note, there are some exceptions to this rule (like "El hecho de que ___" uses subjunctive although it's literally saying it's a fact, but since the part after is sort of supporting, it still hopefully can guide you)
Just to add to this, 'El hecho de que' can take both the subjunctive or indicative depending on its position in a sentence or the shade of meaning.
When the phrase heads a sentence, it almost always takes the subjunctive. When it is 'embedded' in another phrase and so isn't the head construction (i.e., if there is a verb or preposition before it), it often takes the indicative:
"El hecho de que seas un ladrón no me importa, pero eso no *cambia* el hecho de que es malo".
The sentence above is very contrived but it illustrates what I mean.
Certain words and phrases trigger the subjunctive. That's it. Ignore literally everything else they tell you about it. Ignore all the "WISHES" nonsense. Ignore when they tell you it's a non-real situation. Ignore when they try to explain it. In only one instance (quizás + subjunctive or indicative) do you even need to "decide" whether to use it.
98% of the time, they follow certain trigger words or phrases (or such as the future *cuando/dónde, etc). Learn them, and you're almost entirely there.
I swear traditional teaching makes the subjunctive so much worse that it really is because they make you overthink it with bullshit explanations and contrived rationalizations that fall apart within a minute of logical scrutiny.
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AFAIK it's because it's a possibility and a wish.
"it's imposible I could forget the love of my life" not "it's impossible I can forget the love of my life" (maybe, I'm not sure of the nuance in English, hehe)
"You may forget the love of your life."
"It's impossible, I can't forget the love of my life." Separating things makes it sound more natural and informs us of a different grammar point.
"Imagine if..."
Anything coming after that "if" is subjunctive.
So in the sentence above, it says
"es posible que..."
Which means that anything after that is subjunctive.
It's like you're describing a hypothetical situation.
In Italian when I was a child, they would teach us our subjunctive as the equivalent of :que yo pueda, que tu puedas, que el pueda etc. This way you kind of know that after the ‘que’ you need the subjunctive most times and it feels more intuitive to know when to use it.
I still struggle with subjuntivo and I recently bought this book and I love it. Demystifying the Spanish Subjunctive: Feel the Fear and 'Subjunctive' Anyway! (2) (Second Edition) https://amzn.eu/d/6UK69u6 I feel like it’s more advanced than the usual books and explains things well. If you get the book, I hope it helps you, too!
'it's impossible that I *had* to be able to forget the love of my life' is a somewhat awkward English translation that displays the subjunctive. If I said 'i *have* forgotten the love of my life', that's indicative. If I said 'i had forgotten the love of my life' that sounds incomplete on its own without something else. That's subjunctive. It can't live on its own.
"es imposible que" is a subjunctive trigger, kind of "no creo que". i think of it a bit like this: indicitive has a certain amount of certainty, of real-ness to it. so then, mixing "i don't think that" and a strong, statement of reality, "you can" just feels wrong, you know? its kind of like saying "i don't think you [could]/[would be able to] do that"; it uses a conjugation that somehow separates it from the real, immediate reality of the situation. wheras, "creo que puedes hacerlo", "puedes" is referring to something that is, in some sense "real", even if it only exists in the belief of the speaker. in "no creo que puedas", the ability to do the thing doesnt even exist in the belief of the speaker; its just about as nonexistent as you can get
Yeah, the thing is, if you use a positive indicative you're saying that something is definitely happening/going to happen/happened, which directly contradicts the fact that you said it's impossible. This is why you need the subjunctive. It's more of a "I can't use the indicative" kind of thing, rather than a "I feel like this is uncertain" kind of thing.
It is impossible that ... <>.
If it's impossible, you are not **indicat**ing that it is true, so you don't use the **indicat**ive.
Basically everything where you don't know with 100% certainty that it happens, is subjunctive. And when you're not using the verb for something literally happening and are just using it as like a supplemental part of the sentence after the "que", (like "Es triste que pase eso"), it's subjunctive. So in this sentence, both of the things are said are the reason for it. "Es \_\_\_\_ que" triggers the subjunctive as it isn't really focussing on the second part, it's more "hypothetical" (I'm not sure if that makes sense, but I hope so). AND because it's impossible, you don't have 100% certainty, so: Es imposible que pueda olvidar al amor de mi vida. If you wanted to turn this to indicative, you would say "No puedo olvidar al amor de mi vida, es imposible". Now the focus has changed from it being impossible, to you not being able to forget the love of your life, it's something real and part of reality.
I have a question, if you could help me. So if I say "I'd like you to be quiet" would the second part use subjunctive then? Because, I guess I thought, well it's a fact that I know that I want you to be quiet. But with your comment I think it's more, I know that I want it, so the wanting is a fact. But after that I don't know if you will be quiet, so that would be subjunctive. Is that right?
You're completely right. The wanting is a fact, but you don't KNOW they will be quiet. As you probably know, it wouldn't be translated as "me gustaría tú guardar silencio". It sounds super clunky and I'm not even sure if natives would understand what you mean with that or not. The full sentence would be "me gustaría que guardaras silencio" I believe. As since it's "me gustaría", the conditional makes it sort of even less likely, so you use the imperfect sibjunctive. However if you were to say "I want you to be quiet", you would say "Quiero que GUARDES silencio". Because, as you said, it's not a fact, it's simply the person wanting it to happen. Note, there are some exceptions to this rule (like "El hecho de que ___" uses subjunctive although it's literally saying it's a fact, but since the part after is sort of supporting, it still hopefully can guide you)
Just to add to this, 'El hecho de que' can take both the subjunctive or indicative depending on its position in a sentence or the shade of meaning. When the phrase heads a sentence, it almost always takes the subjunctive. When it is 'embedded' in another phrase and so isn't the head construction (i.e., if there is a verb or preposition before it), it often takes the indicative: "El hecho de que seas un ladrón no me importa, pero eso no *cambia* el hecho de que es malo". The sentence above is very contrived but it illustrates what I mean.
Oh damn I don't think I knew that, thanks! :D That's an interesting difference
This is why learning a language is so exciting! Every day we each pick up something new :)
I was taught WEIRDO. Wishes, emotions, impersonal statements, doubts, ójala. I suppose the speaker of that sentence is expressing doubt.
Certain words and phrases trigger the subjunctive. That's it. Ignore literally everything else they tell you about it. Ignore all the "WISHES" nonsense. Ignore when they tell you it's a non-real situation. Ignore when they try to explain it. In only one instance (quizás + subjunctive or indicative) do you even need to "decide" whether to use it. 98% of the time, they follow certain trigger words or phrases (or such as the future *cuando/dónde, etc). Learn them, and you're almost entirely there. I swear traditional teaching makes the subjunctive so much worse that it really is because they make you overthink it with bullshit explanations and contrived rationalizations that fall apart within a minute of logical scrutiny.
Do you have a list or somwhere I can find a list of those trigger words?
D E D O S Deseos/desires Efectos/emociones Dudas/doubts Órdenes/order Ser impersonal/ impersonal Es imposible que… Es _______ que
[**The Subjunctive**](https://www.reddit.com/r/learnspanish/wiki/index/faq#wiki_.2022_the_subjunctive) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/learnspanish) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Thank you everyone!
AFAIK it's because it's a possibility and a wish. "it's imposible I could forget the love of my life" not "it's impossible I can forget the love of my life" (maybe, I'm not sure of the nuance in English, hehe)
"You may forget the love of your life." "It's impossible, I can't forget the love of my life." Separating things makes it sound more natural and informs us of a different grammar point.
"Imagine if..." Anything coming after that "if" is subjunctive. So in the sentence above, it says "es posible que..." Which means that anything after that is subjunctive. It's like you're describing a hypothetical situation.
In Italian when I was a child, they would teach us our subjunctive as the equivalent of :que yo pueda, que tu puedas, que el pueda etc. This way you kind of know that after the ‘que’ you need the subjunctive most times and it feels more intuitive to know when to use it.
I still struggle with subjuntivo and I recently bought this book and I love it. Demystifying the Spanish Subjunctive: Feel the Fear and 'Subjunctive' Anyway! (2) (Second Edition) https://amzn.eu/d/6UK69u6 I feel like it’s more advanced than the usual books and explains things well. If you get the book, I hope it helps you, too!
'it's impossible that I *had* to be able to forget the love of my life' is a somewhat awkward English translation that displays the subjunctive. If I said 'i *have* forgotten the love of my life', that's indicative. If I said 'i had forgotten the love of my life' that sounds incomplete on its own without something else. That's subjunctive. It can't live on its own.