Breakdown of Ellos dudan que el monstruo sea imaginario.
ser
to be
ellos
they
que
that / than
dudar
to doubt
el monstruo
the monster
imaginario
imaginary
Questions & Answers about Ellos dudan que el monstruo sea imaginario.
Why is the verb sea used here instead of es?
The verb dudar (to doubt) triggers the subjunctive mood because it expresses uncertainty. Whenever you use dudar que, the verb in the following clause must be in the subjunctive. Here, the present subjunctive of ser is sea.
Would we still use the subjunctive if they didn't doubt it?
No. If you say no dudan que (they do not doubt that), you are expressing certainty or a stated fact. Certainty takes the indicative mood, so the sentence would become Ellos no dudan que el monstruo es imaginario.
Why is it sea (from ser) and not esté (from estar)?
Can I leave out the word que like we often do with the word that in English?
No, you cannot drop que in Spanish. In English, we can optionally drop the connecting word and just say They doubt the monster is imaginary. In Spanish, the connecting word que is always required to link the two halves of the sentence.
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