Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): Mi padre quiere que crucemos la frontera temprano para llegar al sur antes de que se haga de noche. - My father wants us to cross the border early to arrive in the south before it gets dark.

Word

Mi padre quiere que crucemos la frontera temprano para llegar al sur antes de que se haga de noche.

Meaning

My father wants us to cross the border early to arrive in the south before it gets dark.

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

Lesson

Breakdown of Mi padre quiere que crucemos la frontera temprano para llegar al sur antes de que se haga de noche.

Why is it quiere que crucemos instead of quiere cruzar or quiere que cruzamos?

Because querer que is followed by the subjunctive when one person wants someone else to do something.

Mi padre quiere cruzar la frontera = My father wants to cross the border.
Here, my father is the one who wants to do the action himself, so Spanish uses the infinitive cruzar.
Mi padre quiere que crucemos la frontera = My father wants us to cross the border.
Here, my father wants us to do it, so Spanish uses que + subjunctive.

And cruzamos would be indicative, not subjunctive, so it does not fit after quiere que.

Why is crucemos in the subjunctive?

It is in the subjunctive because the main verb expresses desire/will: Mi padre quiere...

A very common rule in Spanish is:

So:

The subjunctive here does not mean the action is impossible. It means it is being presented as something desired, not simply stated as a fact.