Looking to the future: cuando, en cuanto, and hasta que
When rescuing wild animals, you often talk about pending events—things that will happen once a certain condition is met.
In Spanish, when time words introduce an action that hasn't happened yet, the verb that follows them must be in the present subjunctive. Notice that while English uses the present tense in these clauses ("when it is healthy"), Spanish requires the subjunctive because the event is still in the future.
Use the subjunctive after cuando (when). The main clause usually uses the future tense or expresses a future intent.
| The wild bird will be able to fly when it is healthy. | El pájaro salvaje podrá volar cuando esté sano. |
| The baby animal will return to the jungle when it can survive alone. | La cría volverá a la selva cuando pueda sobrevivir sola. |
En cuanto means "as soon as". Like cuando, it can sit in the middle of the sentence or at the beginning.
| As soon as the cage is open, the animal will leave. | En cuanto la jaula esté abierta, el animal saldrá. |
| As soon as the bird is healthy, we are going to release it in its habitat. | En cuanto el pájaro esté sano, lo vamos a liberar en su hábitat. |
Use hasta que (until) for an ongoing action that will stop once the future condition is met.
| I will not feed the injured monkey until the doctor arrives. | No alimentaré al mono herido hasta que llegue el doctor. |
| The government will protect the natural habitat until the wild animal recovers. | El gobierno protegerá el hábitat natural hasta que el animal salvaje se recupere. |
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