Breakdown of No pienso que el contraste muestre buen gusto.
no
no, not
pensar
to think / to plan
que
that / than
bueno
good
mostrar
to show
el contraste
contrast
el gusto
taste
Questions & Answers about No pienso que el contraste muestre buen gusto.
Why is muestre in the subjunctive here?
The sentence starts with No pienso que (I don't think that). In Spanish, expressing a negative opinion or belief introduces doubt or subjectivity, which triggers the subjunctive in the following clause. If the sentence were affirmative—Pienso que (I think that)—you would use the indicative: Pienso que el contraste muestra buen gusto.
Can I use No creo que instead of No pienso que for this sentence?
Definitely. No creo que (I don't believe that) and No pienso que (I don't think that) are virtually interchangeable for expressing negative opinions. Both act as negative triggers that require the subjunctive verb (muestre) in the second part of the sentence.
I see an "ue" in muestre. Do stem-changing verbs keep their changes in the present subjunctive?
Yes! The infinitive is mostrar. Just like in the present indicative (él muestra), the o to ue stem change applies in the present subjunctive for the same pronouns (yo, tú, él/ella/usted, ellos/ellas/ustedes). Since el contraste is "it" (third-person singular), the verb becomes muestre.
Why is the word bueno shortened to buen before gusto?
The adjective bueno loses its final -o whenever it is placed directly in front of a masculine singular noun. Because gusto is masculine and singular, bueno becomes buen. You will see the exact same pattern happen with malo becoming mal (e.g., mal gusto).
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