Breakdown of No pensamos que la evidencia sea verdadera.
ser
to be
no
no, not
pensar
to think / to plan
que
that / than
la evidencia
the evidence (certainty, obviousness)
verdadero
true (real, authentic)
Questions & Answers about No pensamos que la evidencia sea verdadera.
Why is it sea instead of es in this sentence?
Because the sentence starts with No pensamos que (We don't think that). When you express doubt or denial using a negative phrase like no pensar que or no creer que, you must use the subjunctive mood (sea) for the verb that follows. If the sentence were affirmative (Pensamos que...), you would use the regular indicative form (es).
Could I use the word verdad instead of verdadera here?
Verdadera is an adjective meaning 'true', so it changes to end in 'a' to match the feminine noun la evidencia. Verdad is a noun meaning 'truth'. While Spanish speakers sometimes say things like sea verdad (literally 'is truth'), using the adjective verdadera is the most direct way to describe the evidence as being true.
The English translation leaves out the word 'that'. Can we drop que in Spanish?
No, you can never drop que when connecting two clauses like this in Spanish. Even though the word 'that' is often optional in English ('We do not think the evidence is true'), you must always include que after verbs of thinking or believing.
Why doesn't the subjunctive apply to pensamos as well?
The subjunctive is only used in the second part of the sentence, after the word que. The first verb (pensamos) is the main action of the sentence, so it stays in the normal indicative mood. The word no simply makes it negative, which then creates the doubt that triggers the subjunctive (sea) in the second half of the sentence.
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