Wishes and Desires (Querer que, Esperar que) | Spanish (Latin America) Grammar

The first and most intuitive subjunctive trigger is wishes and desires. Whenever the speaker wants, hopes, or prefers that someone else do something, Spanish uses the subjunctive in the dependent clause. The main clause contains a verb of volition; the word que introduces the dependent clause; and the verb inside that clause is in the subjunctive.

Common Triggers

Spanish	English
querer que	to want (someone) to
desear que	to desire / wish that
esperar que	to hope that
preferir que	to prefer that
necesitar que	to need (someone) to
exigir que	to demand that
insistir en que	to insist that
ojalá (que)	I hope / if only

All of these expressions follow the same pattern: [wish verb] + que + [subjunctive verb].

The Subject-Change Requirement

The rule that most often trips up English speakers is the subject change. Spanish only uses the subjunctive here when the subject of the main clause and the subject of the dependent clause are different. If they're the same, Spanish simply uses an infinitive.

Quiero estudiar esta noche.

I want to study tonight.

Same subject (yo wants, yo studies), so the verb stays as an infinitive.

Quiero que estudies esta noche.

I want you to study tonight.

Different subjects (yo wants, tú studies), so the second verb goes into the subjunctive.

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In English, "I want you to study" uses an infinitive, but in Spanish that structure doesn't exist. You must say Quiero que estudies, with the second verb fully conjugated in the subjunctive.

Querer que

Querer que is one of the most frequently used subjunctive triggers. It can express a strong desire or a gentle request.

Mi jefa quiere que trabajemos este sábado.

My boss wants us to work this Saturday.

Los niños quieren que les leamos un cuento.

The children want us to read them a story.

¿Quieres que te ayude con la tarea?

Do you want me to help you with your homework?

Esperar que

Esperar can mean "to hope" or "to expect," and both senses take the subjunctive.

Espero que pases un buen fin de semana.

I hope you have a nice weekend.

Esperamos que la reunión sea breve.

We hope the meeting is brief.

Preferir que

Preferir que expresses a preference.

Prefiero que me llames por la tarde.

I prefer that you call me in the afternoon.

Mis padres prefieren que vivamos cerca de ellos.

My parents prefer that we live near them.

Ojalá que

Ojalá comes from Arabic and literally expresses a hope. It always takes the subjunctive and does not need a subject in the main clause (in fact there is no main clause at all). You can use ojalá with or without que.

Ojalá que no llueva mañana.

I hope it doesn't rain tomorrow.

Ojalá tengas mucho éxito en tu nuevo trabajo.

I hope you have great success in your new job.

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Ojalá with the present subjunctive expresses a hope about the present or near future. If you want to express a hope about an unlikely or counterfactual situation, you'd use the imperfect subjunctive (ojalá tuviera más tiempo — "I wish I had more time"), but that belongs to a later section.

Necesitar que and Exigir que

Necesitar que and exigir que are used when the main clause expresses a need or demand.

Necesito que me ayudes con esto.

I need you to help me with this.

El profesor exige que entreguemos la tarea mañana.

The teacher demands that we turn in the homework tomorrow.

A Subtle Example: Decir que

Decir que is special. It can take either the indicative or the subjunctive, depending on meaning:

Indicative: reporting a fact — Dice que viene mañana. ("He says he's coming tomorrow.")
Subjunctive: expressing a command or wish — Dice que vengas mañana. ("He says that you should come tomorrow.")

Mi madre dice que limpies tu cuarto.

My mother says you should clean your room.

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Whenever a verb of communication (decir, escribir, gritar) is used to transmit a command or wish, it behaves like a trigger of volition and takes the subjunctive. When it simply reports information, it uses the indicative.

Continue to emotions for the next WEIRDO category.