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Es importante que respetemos el medio ambiente.

Es importante que respetemos el medio ambiente.
It is important that we respect the environment.
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Questions & Answers about Es importante que respetemos el medio ambiente.

Why is respetemos used instead of respetamos?

Because respetemos is in the present subjunctive, and this structure requires the subjunctive.

In Spanish, expressions like Es importante que…, Es necesario que…, Es mejor que… + a change of subject almost always take the subjunctive.

  • Es importante que respetemos el medio ambiente.
    → value judgment + different subject (it is important / we respect) → subjunctive.

Using respetamos (indicative) would sound ungrammatical to a native speaker here.

What exactly is the role of que in this sentence? Can I leave it out?

Here que is a conjunction that introduces a subordinate clause:

  • Main clause: Es importante
  • Subordinate clause: que respetemos el medio ambiente

In English we often drop that:

  • It’s important (that) we respect the environment.

In Spanish, after this kind of impersonal expression (Es importante, Es necesario, etc.), you should keep que.
✗ Es importante respetemos el medio ambiente (incorrect in this meaning).
✓ Es importante que respetemos el medio ambiente.

Could I say Es importante respetar el medio ambiente instead? What’s the difference?

Yes, you can, and it’s very common:

  • Es importante respetar el medio ambiente.
  • Es importante que respetemos el medio ambiente.

Difference in nuance:

  • Es importante respetar…
    Focuses on the action in general: “Respecting the environment is important” (as a general truth or idea).

  • Es importante que respetemos…
    Focuses more on us actually doing it: “It’s important that we (in particular) respect the environment.”

Both are natural and correct; in many contexts you can use either without a big difference.

Who is the subject of respetemos? Why is nosotros not written?

Respetemos is the nosotros form of the present subjunctive, so the implied subject is “we”.

Spanish is a “pro‑drop” language: the subject pronoun is often omitted because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

  • (Nosotros) respetemos el medio ambiente.

You can add nosotros for emphasis or contrast:

  • Es importante que nosotros respetemos el medio ambiente (y no solo las empresas).

But in neutral sentences, it’s more natural to leave nosotros out.

What tense and mood is respetemos, and how is it formed?

Respetemos is present subjunctive, nosotros form of respetar.

To form the present subjunctive for regular -ar verbs:

  1. Take the yo form of the present indicative: respeto.
  2. Drop the -o: respet-.
  3. Add subjunctive endings: -e, -es, -e, -emos, -éis, -en.

So:

  • yo respete
  • tú respetes
  • él/ella/usted respete
  • nosotros respetemos
  • vosotros respetéis
  • ellos/ellas/ustedes respeten
If I say Es importante que respetamos el medio ambiente, is that wrong?

Yes, that is considered wrong by native speakers.

After Es importante que… (and similar phrases of opinion, necessity, or importance), Spanish grammar requires the subjunctive, not the indicative:

  • ✗ Es importante que respetamos el medio ambiente.
  • ✓ Es importante que respetemos el medio ambiente.

Using respetamos here sounds like a typical learner mistake.

Why is it el medio ambiente and not just medio ambiente, like English “the environment” vs “environment”?

Spanish often uses the definite article (el, la, los, las) where English does not.

For general concepts, Spanish normally says:

  • el medio ambiente – the environment (in general)
  • el agua – water
  • la educación – education

So the most natural way to say “the environment” in this general sense is el medio ambiente, not just medio ambiente by itself.
You might drop the article in titles, headlines, or slogans, but in a normal sentence you keep el.

What does medio ambiente literally mean? Can I say just ambiente?

Literally, medio ambiente is like saying “environmental surroundings” or “environmental setting”. In practice, it is a fixed phrase meaning “the (natural) environment”: nature, ecosystems, etc.

You can say just el ambiente, but it is more general and often refers to:

  • the atmosphere of a place:
    • Hay buen ambiente en esta clase. – There’s a good atmosphere in this class.
  • the social scene:
    • el ambiente nocturno – the nightlife scene.

When you mean “the environment” in the ecological sense, you almost always say el medio ambiente.

Can I use a pronoun instead of repeating el medio ambiente? How would that look?

Yes. You can replace el medio ambiente with a direct object pronoun lo:

  • Es importante que lo respetemos. – It’s important that we respect it.

Placement: the pronoun goes before the conjugated verb respetemos.

You could also say, for clarity:

  • Es importante que respetemos el medio ambiente y que lo cuidemos.
    – It’s important that we respect the environment and take care of it.
Is the sentence formal, informal, or neutral? Would it sound natural in Spain?

The sentence is neutral and standard; it sounds completely natural in Spain (and in other Spanish‑speaking countries).

You could hear it in:

  • school lessons
  • news reports
  • public campaigns
  • everyday conversation

More informal variants might be:

  • Tenemos que respetar el medio ambiente. – We have to respect the environment.
  • Hay que respetar el medio ambiente. – You/we/people must respect the environment.

But Es importante que respetemos el medio ambiente is perfectly natural and widely used.