No quiero que mi hija salte en el sofá.

I

Breakdown of No quiero que mi hija salte en el sofá.

• querer: to want
• mi: my
• que: that

Questions & Answers about No quiero que mi hija salte en el sofá.

Why is salte used instead of salta or saltar?

Because salte is the present subjunctive of saltar.

After querer que when you are talking about what you want or do not want another person to do, Spanish normally uses the subjunctive:

• Quiero que ella salte
• No quiero que mi hija salte

If the subject stays the same, Spanish usually uses the infinitive instead:

• No quiero saltar en el sofá = I do not want to jump on the sofa

So:

• salta = present indicative / command form, not correct here
• saltar = infinitive, used when there is no change of subject
• salte = correct form after quiero que with a different subject

Why is que necessary here?

Que introduces the second clause: que mi hija salte en el sofá.

In English, that is often optional:

• I do not want my daughter to jump
• I do not want that my daughter jumps is not natural English

But in Spanish, que is required in this structure:

• No quiero que mi hija salte...

You cannot say:

• No quiero mi hija salte... ✘

So que is the normal link between the main verb of wanting and the action done by someone else.