One rule governs the choice between que + subjunctive and the bare infinitive after verbs of wish, hope, emotion, and intention: same subject, infinitive; different subjects, que + subjunctive. It looks simple, but the rule cuts directly against English habits — English speakers consistently produce sentences like Quiero que vaya when they mean "I want to go", because in English you can say "I want that I go" without it feeling absurd. In Spanish it would be ungrammatical. This page nails down the rule and walks through the pitfalls.
The rule
When the subject of the main verb (the one expressing the wish, hope, emotion, etc.) is the SAME as the subject of the action being wished for, hoped for, or felt about, Spanish uses the infinitive — with no que.
Quiero ir al cine esta noche.
I want to go to the cinema tonight.
Here, the subject of quiero is "I", and the subject of ir is also "I". Same subject. Spanish uses the infinitive.
When the subjects DIFFER, Spanish uses que + subjunctive:
Quiero que vayas al cine conmigo.
I want you to go to the cinema with me.
Subject of quiero is "I". Subject of vayas is "you". Different subjects. Que + subjunctive.
Why Spanish does this
Spanish (like all Romance languages) reserves que + subjunctive for the case where the embedded action belongs to a different agent than the main verb's subject. When the agent is the same, there's no need to introduce a new clause — the action is just a continuation of what the speaker is doing or feeling. The infinitive expresses that continuity directly.
English doesn't make this distinction because it uses the infinitive in both cases: "I want to go", "I want you to go". But Spanish doesn't have a "for you to go" infinitive construction — when the subject of the embedded verb is somebody other than the main subject, the only option is que + subjunctive.
This is also why a literal translation of "I want for you to go" — *Quiero para que vayas — is wrong. The Spanish construction is just Quiero que vayas, with no preposition.
Verbs that follow this rule
The rule applies broadly to all the canonical subjunctive triggers — verbs of wish, hope, emotion, preference, and many evaluations.
| Verb | Same subject (infinitive) | Different subjects (que + subjunctive) |
|---|---|---|
| querer | Quiero ir. | Quiero que vayas. |
| esperar | Espero llegar a tiempo. | Espero que llegues a tiempo. |
| desear | Deseo viajar más. | Deseo que viajes más. |
| necesitar | Necesito descansar. | Necesito que descanses. |
| preferir | Prefiero quedarme. | Prefiero que te quedes. |
| odiar | Odio madrugar. | Odio que me llamen tan pronto. |
| temer | Temo equivocarme. | Temo que te equivoques. |
| alegrarse de | Me alegro de verte. | Me alegro de que estés aquí. |
| sentir | Siento llegar tarde. | Siento que llegues tarde. |
| lamentar | Lamento molestar. | Lamento que te moleste. |
Espero llegar a tiempo, hay mucho tráfico.
I hope I get there on time, there's a lot of traffic.
Espero que llegues a tiempo, te están esperando.
I hope you get there on time, they're waiting for you.
Prefiero quedarme en casa esta noche.
I'd rather stay home tonight.
Prefiero que te quedes en casa esta noche.
I'd rather you stay home tonight.
Emotional reactions with se-verbs
Verbs of emotional reaction — alegrarse, sorprenderse, enfadarse, molestarse, aburrirse — follow the same rule, but they require a preposition (de or con) before the embedded clause. With the infinitive: alegrarse de + INF. With a different subject: alegrarse de que + SUBJ.
Me alegro de estar aquí con vosotros.
I'm glad to be here with you.
Me alegro de que estéis aquí.
I'm glad you're here.
Me enfada perder el tren por unos segundos.
It annoys me to miss the train by a few seconds.
Me enfada que pierdas siempre las llaves.
It annoys me that you always lose your keys.
The preposition stays in both versions — don't drop the de when you switch to the infinitive.
The impersonal evaluations
Impersonal expressions (es importante, es necesario, hace falta) work the same way. When you target a specific person → que + subjunctive. When you make a generic statement → infinitive (and no que).
Es importante estudiar todos los días.
It's important to study every day. (generic)
Es importante que estudies para el examen.
It's important that you study for the exam. (directed at you)
Hace falta tener paciencia con los niños pequeños.
You need patience with small children. (generic)
Hace falta que tengas paciencia con tu hermano.
You need to be patient with your brother. (directed)
The generic version is closer in feeling to English "It's important to study" — the subject is "people in general". The directed version pinpoints a specific person.
Influence verbs: the special middle ground
Verbs of influence — pedir, recomendar, aconsejar, sugerir, prohibir, permitir, dejar, mandar, ordenar — can take either que + subjunctive OR an infinitive structure with a dative clitic. Both are correct, and both are common.
Te recomiendo que vayas en metro.
I recommend you take the metro. (with que)
Te recomiendo ir en metro.
I recommend you take the metro. (with infinitive)
No me dejan que salga esta noche.
They won't let me go out tonight.
No me dejan salir esta noche.
They won't let me go out tonight.
These influence verbs are special because the action being recommended/permitted/forbidden is performed by someone different from the speaker — yet Spanish still allows the infinitive (with the person marked by a clitic). This is a structural compromise specific to this class of verbs. Querer, esperar, desear do NOT have this option: they require que + subjunctive whenever the subjects differ.
English-speaker traps
The "for me to" reflex
English allows constructions like "I want for you to go", "She'd prefer for us to come back later". Spanish has nothing equivalent. There is no Spanish word for the "for" in these structures — you must use que + subjunctive.
❌ Quiero para que vayas.
Incorrect — no 'para' in this construction.
✅ Quiero que vayas.
I want you to go.
The para que construction does exist in Spanish — but it means "in order that", expressing purpose, not the embedded subject of a wish. See the purpose-clauses page for para que + subjunctive.
Forcing "que" with the same subject
The opposite mistake is also extremely common: forcing que + subjunctive even when the subject doesn't change.
❌ Quiero que vaya al cine. (meaning: I want to go to the cinema)
Incorrect — same subject requires infinitive.
✅ Quiero ir al cine.
I want to go to the cinema.
If you actually say Quiero que vaya al cine, a Spanish listener will assume you mean "I want him/her to go to the cinema" — because vaya is third-person singular subjunctive and the subject must therefore be a third person.
Mixing the structures
A messy middle ground that learners produce:
❌ Espero llegar que llegue a tiempo.
Incorrect — mixing infinitive and que+subjunctive.
✅ Espero llegar a tiempo.
I hope I get there on time.
✅ Espero que lleguen a tiempo.
I hope they get there on time.
Pick one structure and commit to it.
Verbs that always take the infinitive (no subjunctive option)
Some verbs — modal-like verbs and verbs of perception with infinitive complements — always take the infinitive regardless of subject. These are NOT subjunctive triggers. Examples: poder, deber, saber (in the "know how" sense), soler, conseguir, lograr, intentar.
Quiero conseguir un trabajo mejor.
I want to get a better job.
Mi hermana no consigue aprobar el examen.
My sister can't manage to pass the exam.
You will never say Quiero conseguir que apruebe in the sense of "I want to manage to pass". Conseguir simply takes an infinitive complement.
Same-subject verbs with no infinitive option
A few subjunctive triggers — most notably ojalá, ojalá que, and certain fixed evaluative expressions — do not have an infinitive option at all. They always use the subjunctive, regardless of whether subjects match.
Ojalá llegue a tiempo.
I hope I get there on time. / Hopefully I get there on time.
Here llegar has the same subject as the speaker — "I" — yet the subjunctive is used because ojalá doesn't combine with an infinitive. It's structurally a wish-particle, and it always takes a finite subjunctive verb.
Common mistakes
❌ Quiero que vaya al cine. (meaning 'I want to go')
Incorrect — same subject requires infinitive.
✅ Quiero ir al cine.
I want to go to the cinema.
If both subjects are "I", you must use the infinitive. The version with que would mean "I want him/her to go".
❌ Espero a llegar a tiempo.
Incorrect — espero + infinitive does NOT take 'a'.
✅ Espero llegar a tiempo.
I hope to get there on time.
Esperar (in the sense "to hope") takes a bare infinitive. Don't insert a. (The pattern esperar a + infinitive does exist but means "to wait until / wait to" — a different verb sense.)
❌ Me alegra que verte.
Incorrect — same subject, drop the 'que', use infinitive.
✅ Me alegra verte.
It makes me happy to see you.
When the embedded action shares the subject of the experiencer (the person who is glad to see you is also doing the seeing), use the infinitive — no que.
❌ Quiero para que vengas.
Incorrect — no 'para' with querer + que.
✅ Quiero que vengas.
I want you to come.
There is no Spanish equivalent of English "for + person + to + verb". The Spanish construction is just que + subjunctive.
❌ Mi madre quiere que voy al médico.
Different subject — needs subjunctive.
✅ Mi madre quiere que vaya al médico.
My mother wants me to go to the doctor.
When the subjects differ, the embedded verb MUST be in the subjunctive. Voy (indicative) is impossible here.
Key takeaways
- Same subject → infinitive. Different subjects → que + subjunctive.
- Spanish has no equivalent of English "for + person + to + verb". The bare que + subjunctive does that work.
- Influence verbs (pedir, recomendar, dejar, prohibir…) also accept a clitic + infinitive construction even with different subjects — both options are correct.
- Ojalá is the exception: it always takes the subjunctive, even with same-subject sentences.
- The infinitive option requires no preposition with querer/esperar/preferir, but does need de with reaction verbs (alegrarse de + INF).
Now practice Spanish
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Start learning Spanish→Related Topics
- Disparadores del subjuntivo: panoramaB1 — A master inventory of every grammatical trigger that forces the present subjunctive in peninsular Spanish — wishes, emotions, doubt, impersonal judgments, time, purpose, condition and more.
- Disparadores: consejos y mandatos indirectosB1 — Verbs of influence — asking, telling, recommending, ordering — trigger the subjunctive in the subordinate clause.
- Infinitivo o gerundio: cuándo cada unoB1 — The decision between Spanish infinitive (hablar) and gerund (hablando) — which is a different decision from English, because Spanish uses the infinitive in many places where English uses the -ing form. The infinitive as noun (fumar es malo), after prepositions (sin saber, antes de comer), as subject. The gerund for genuinely ongoing action (estoy hablando), simultaneity (lo vi corriendo), and means (aprendí leyendo). Why fumando es malo is wrong, and what to use instead.
- Infinitivo después de verbos conjugadosA2 — When two verbs share a subject, the second one stays in the infinitive — quiero ir, puedo venir, suelo madrugar — never que, never a conjugated form.