Subjunctive after Wishes and Influence

Verbs of wishing and influence normally take que + subjunctive when one participant wants, asks, requires, allows, or prevents another situation: Vull que vinguis, Demanen que esperem, No deixis que caigui. The subordinate event is not asserted as real; it is the desired or affected outcome.

The most important structural choice is often not the ending but the subject relationship. When the same person controls both actions, Catalan usually uses an infinitive: Vull sortir. When the subjects differ, it uses a finite clause: Vull que surtis.

This is one major application of the nonassertion principle developed in what the subjunctive contributes: the wanted outcome is represented through somebody's will rather than asserted as already real.

Voler: infinitive or que + subjunctive

With one subject, voler + infinitive is the ordinary construction:

The unexpressed subject of descansar is understood to be the subject of volem: “we want [us to rest].” English works similarly here. When the desired action has another subject, Catalan cannot use an English-style object plus infinitive; it needs que and a finite subjunctive:

The subordinate ending agrees with its own subject: parlis with tu, tornem with nosaltres. The main verb's person does not control that ending.

An explicit subject in the que-clause can clarify or contrast who performs the desired action: Vols que hi vagi jo personalment? Here the subject of vols is tu and the subject of vagi is jo, so this is still a two-subject construction. There is no useful shortcut beyond checking who performs each action.

Wishes beyond voler

Esperar que “to hope that,” desitjar que “to wish that,” and tant de bo (que) “if only / hopefully” also present an event as desired rather than asserted.

Esperar is neutral and frequent. Desitjar is common in courteous formulas and can sound more (formal) or emphatic than everyday voler: Desitgem que tingueu un bon viatge. Tant de bo is expressive and fully normal in conversation and writing.

These constructions do not claim that the hoped-for event is unlikely. A speaker can say Espero que arribis a les vuit about a well-established plan. Desire, not statistical uncertainty, licenses the mood.

Requests and requirements: demanar and exigir

To ask a person to do something, use demanar a algú que + subjunctive. The person asked is commonly represented by an indirect-object clitic:

Do not confuse demanar with preguntar. Preguntar asks for information: Li he preguntat a quina hora obren. Demanar requests a thing or action: Li he demanat que obri la porta.

Exigir que + subjunctive has the same clause structure but conveys a non-negotiable requirement and is frequent in rules, complaints, and institutional language (formal):

The subjunctive does not tell you whether the request will be obeyed. It marks the subordinate event as the intended outcome of influence, not an established fact.

Permission and prevention: deixar and impedir

Deixar que + subjunctive allows or permits a situation:

Catalan also has a compact causative pattern with a clitic and infinitive: Deixa'm parlar “Let me speak”; Deixeu-los passar “Let them through.” Compare Deixa que parli, where parli is a finite form whose subject must be recovered from context. Both constructions are natural, but their clitic placement and syntactic structure differ.

Impedir que + subjunctive presents an event whose realization is blocked:

Even under negation, continuem remains subjunctive: the clause is still the potential event affected by impedir. Selecting mood by spotting no would fail; the governing relation and assertion structure matter.

Indirect commands

A direct command becomes a que + subjunctive clause when reported or passed through another person:

English often uses “tell + object + to-infinitive.” Catalan uses an indirect object with the speech verb (digues-li) and a finite subordinate verb (que vingui). Negative polarity stays inside the subordinate clause: que no apaguem.

Time viewpoint and the neighboring past construction

Present subjunctive is appropriate when the wish or act of influence is anchored in the present and its outcome is simultaneous or later:

With a past viewpoint, Catalan normally uses the imperfect subjunctive:

If the desired action is already completed relative to now, use the perfect subjunctive: Espero que hagis enviat el correu. This is why a form-for-form English translation is unreliable: “come,” “came,” and “have come” distribute differently once discourse time and completion are considered.

Do not confuse Catalan periphrastic past va venir with anar a + infinitive: the completed past has no a. More importantly, after a past wish the subordinate verb is not the indicative past at all: Volia que vingués, not volia que va venir or volia que va a venir.

Weak pronouns, negation, and aspect

In an ordinary subordinate clause, weak pronouns precede the finite subjunctive, and no comes first:

This differs from the infinitive after an affirmative command: Explica-m'ho or Deixa'm explicar-t'ho. Do not copy the attached infinitive pattern into que m'ho expliquis.

English progressive wording rarely changes the basic choice. “I want you to be working at nine” is Vull que estiguis treballant a les nou only when the ongoing phase at nine matters. A simple requested task is Vull que treballis demà. Similarly, standard Catalan obligation is haver de + infinitive, not Spanish-influenced tenir que: No vull que hagis de tornar.

Regional and register notes

The syntax of wishes and influence is shared across the major standards. This page uses Central forms in -i. (regional: Valencian) uses forms such as vinga, parle, perda, and servisca in the corresponding environments: Vull que vingues demà. These forms carry the same dependency and person agreement.

Requests can be softened lexically rather than by changing mood: Et demano que vinguis is neutral; Et prego que vinguis is earnest and often (formal); S'exigeix que comparegueu is institutional (formal). The subjunctive itself belongs to every register, including casual conversation.

Mini-dialogue: sharing a presentation

Each subordinate ending agrees with its own understood subject: prepari with jo, revisi with l'Èric, presenti with la Clara, and s'allargui with the same person.

Common Mistakes

1. Using an English object plus infinitive.

2. Using a finite clause for a neutral same-subject desire.

3. Confusing preguntar with requesting an action.

4. Adding de before the finite clause.

5. Importing a progressive or Spanish obligation pattern.

Key Takeaways

• Use an infinitive for a neutral same-subject wish: Vull sortir.
• Use que + finite subjunctive when another subject performs the desired or influenced action: Vull que surtis.
• Demanar, exigir, deixar, and impedir differ in force but all frame the subordinate event as an outcome, not an asserted fact.
• Person agreement belongs to the subordinate subject, and weak pronouns precede the finite subjunctive.