El subjuntivo con clausulas adjetivadas

The Subjunctive in Adjectival Clauses

Adjectives are words that modify a noun, describing or limiting it.  Examples of adjectives are: the new hat, the pretty dress, many intelligent students. An entire clause may serve an adjectival purpose, describing a noun or pronoun —the antecedent— in a sentence, for example:

1. Do you have a dress which will go with these shoes?
2. Yes, I have a dress which will be perfect.
3. I don't see any dress (that) I like.

Note that in all three examples above, there is an adjectival clause (the part in bold-faced type) that modifies or refers back to the word dress. That is, the antecedent in all three cases is dress, but in each case the situation is different: in number one, the antecedent is indefinite, that is, we don't know if such a dress exists; in number two, the antecedent is definite, that is, it definitely is portrayed as existing; in number three, the antecedent is negated, that is, its existence is denied or at least doubtful.

 The rule: In Spanish, the subjunctive is used in an adjectival clause when the antecedent is indefinite or unknown or is nonexistent or negated; in contrast, the indicative is used when the antecedent is a definite or existing one.

Illustration:

Main clause		Dependent clause
Predicate	Antecedent	Adjectival clause	Mood of the verb ladrar (to bark)	Reason for the use of the subjunctive or the indicative
Tengo	un perro	que ladra mucho.	Indicative	There is a definite antecedent, a dog which I own.
No tengo	un perro	que ladre mucho.	Subjunctive	The antecedent is negated; such a dog doesn't exist.
Quiero	un perro	que ladre mucho.	Subjunctive	There is an indefinite antecedent; such a dog may or not exist.
(I have/don't have/want a dog that barks a lot.)

More examples of the three types of situations:

1. The indicative is used in an adjectival clause when there is a definite antecedent:

Hay algo aquí que me gusta.		There is something here which I like.
Conoces al profesor que vive allí?		Do you know the professor who lives there?
Leo un libro que explica todo eso.		I'm reading a book which explains all that.
Tienen una criada que habla español.		They have a maid who speaks Spanish.

2. The subjunctive is used in an adjectival clause when antecedent is negated:

No hay nada aquí que me guste.		There is nothing here I like.
No veo *a nadie que conozca.		I don't see anyone I know.
No recomendamos ningún libro que él haya escrito.		We don't recommend any book he has written.

3. The subjunctive is used in an adjectival clause when there is an indefinite antecedent:

Hay algo aquí que te guste?		Is there anything here you like?
Quiero leer un libro que explique todo eso.		I want to read a book which explains all that.
Conoces *a alguien que viva cerca de aquí?		Do you know anyone who lives nearby?
Buscamos una criada que hable español.		We're looking a maid who speak Spanish. [We hope we can find one!]

*Note the use of the personal a before the pronouns alguien and nadie when used as direct objects.

 

Práctica: El subjuntivo/indicativo en cláusulas adjetivales

Llénese el vacío con la forma correcta del verbo indicado, usando o el presente de indicativo o el presente de subjuntivo, según sea necesario.

1. Jaime, ¿tienes el bolígrafo que Marta ______________________ (buscar)?
2. No, Juan, yo no tengo nada que le ________________________ (pertenecer) a ella.
3. Bueno, es que ella busca un bolígrafo de oro que _____________________ (llevar)

sus iniciales y que ________________________ (hacer) juego con este lápiz mecánico.

4. ¿De oro? ¿Y para estos dos instrumentos tan finos hay un estuche que

______________________ (estar) incrustado de mil diamantes?

5. No seas ridículo. Pero sí vale mucho el bolígrafo, y Marta ofrece diez dólares a

quienquiera que se lo _____________________ (devolver).

6. ¿Diez dólares? Hummm. ¿Dónde lo perdió? ¿Aquí en el edificio CM? Entonces, yo

conozco algunos lugares que nosotros ______________________ (deber) registrar.

7. Vamos. Y si lo encontramos, podemos compartir el dinero que Marta nos

__________________________ (dar), ¿eh?

8. O cualquier cosa que ella nos _____________________ (ofrecer). Primero quiero echar

un vistazo al laboratorio de lenguas, que ______________________ (quedar) en el segundo piso.

9. Jaime, no hay nadie allí que nos _________________________ (ayudar).
10. Puede que sí, puede que no. Sabes que al usar el laboratorio los estudiantes deben

escribir la hora de entrar y salir en un cuaderno que el director

________________________ (haber) puesto allí en la entrada. A veces no se ve

ninguna pluma que ______________________ (servir) y el estudiante tiene que sacar su propia.

11. ¿Crees que ella haya dejado su bolígrafo en una mesa que ___________________

(usar) todo el mundo? Pero alguien haya robado una cosa que _________________ (valer) tanto.

12. Vamos a ver. (Juan y Jaime se van. Mientras tanto, nosotros los lectores nos hacemos

varias preguntas: ¿Existe de veras el bolígrafo que se ________________________

(describir) aquí? ¿Podrán hacer algo que les ____________________________ (proporcionar) diez dólares sin hacer mucho trabajo? ¿Tendrá un desenlace feliz este

cuento que nos ____________________ (afligir) tanto el corazón?)

13. [Unos minutos más tarde. Los investigadores están frente al laboratorio que el

departamento de lenguas extranjeras _________________________ (mantener) para sus estudiantes.]

14. [Al ver a una chica que _______________________ (salir) del laboratorio.] ¿Qué es

eso que _______________________ (traer) en la mano? ¡Dánoslo!

15. ¡Qué tontos! No han visto nunca un lápiz ordinario?. No es nada que les

___________________ (importar) a ustedes.

16. Ah, perdón. (Al entrar en el salón, encuentran el bolígrafo que ____________________

(haber) sido el objeto de su búsqueda; inmediatamente van en busca de Marta, dispuestos

a aceptar humildemente cualquier tesoro que ella les ___________________________ (regalar).

Mejorando su pronunciación con trabalenguas

MEJORANDO SU ESPAñOL CON JUEGOS DE PALABRAS ( TRABALENGUAS )

Improve Your Pronunciation Through Spanish Tongue Twisters

Like any stage of language learning, it’s best to start easy and work your way up to the more difficult stuff. That’s exactly how we’re going to progress through this list of tongue twisters:

The simplest tongue twister is probably

1. Tres tristes tigres – three sad tigers. Sound easy? Try repeating it over and over again. If you’re having trouble getting your mouth around it, try practicing “tre“, “tri” and “re” on their own before adding the other sounds to make the sentence.Once you can say that the tigers are sad without too bursting into tears yourself, make things more complex by setting the scene for your tigers further.Tres tristes tigres tragan trigo en un trigal. Three sad tigers swallow wheat in a wheat field.or even:Tres tristes tigres trigaban trigo en un trigal.Three sad tigres swallowed wheat in a wheat field.

Un tigre, dos tigres, tres tigres trigaban en un trigal.¿Cúal tigre trigaba más?

One tiger, two tiger, three tigers swallowed in a wheat field.Which tigre swallowed more?They all swallowed thesame.Again, if you’re having trouble, practice the sounds on their own before saying the whole thing.

So, for the second version of “tres tristes tigres” you could practice saying “tre, tri, re, tra, tri, tri” until you can say the sounds quickly, and then try the whole sentence.

Once you’ve got the hang of that, try repeating the trabalengua faster and faster to see how quickly you can say it without tripping over the words.

Another simple tongue twister is:

2. Pablito clavó un clavito – little Pablo hit a little nail

This one helps practice the diminutive sound “ito” and is a nice little story, though it’s best not to dwell on why little Pablito is allowed near a hammer.

Pablito clavó un clavito ¿qué clavito clavó Pablito?Little Pablo hit a little nail, Which little nail did little Pablo hit?

Like “tres tristes tigres,” there are several variations on this tongue twister. One even adds a bald man into the mix. Yes, you read that correctly.Pablito clavó un clavito en la cabeza de un calvito.Little Pablo hit a little nail on the head of a little bald man.

En la cabeza de un calvito un clavo clavó Pablito.On the head of the little bald man, little Pablo hit a nail.

We never do find out what happened to the little bald man, or to Pablito, so there’s no guarantee that no one was harmed in the making of this tongue twister.

More Difficult Tongue Twisters This is designed to practice the “rr” sound, which is written here as “erre“. Make sure that you’re really pronouncing the “rr” and not just the “r” sound as you say this tongue twister. If you can’t tell the difference, try saying two words, one with “r” and one with “rr” one after the other.

To step it up a notch, twist your tongue around these: 4. Rápido corren los carros – the cars go quickly
Erre con erre cigarro, erre con erre barril. Rápido corren los carros, cargados de azúcar del ferrocarril.R with rcigarette, r with r barrel.The carts go quickly, laden with sugar from the train. You could switch between “coro” (choir) and “corro” (I run) for example. Record yourself saying the words and then play it all back to see if you can tell the difference.

Another tongue twister concerns the important issue of buying coconuts:6. Compadre, cómprame un coco — buddy, buy me a coconut This fun rhyme practices the “co” sound in various forms, often adding the “m” to make “com“, which is pronounced exactly as it looks — with a long “o” sound.

Compadre, cómprame un coco. Buddy, buy me a coconut.Compadre, coco no compro, porque el que poco coco come, poco coco compra. Buddy, I don’t buy coconut, because those who eat little coconut, buy little coconut.

Como poco coco como, poco coco compro. As I eat little coconut, I buy little coconut.