Breakdown of Quiero ver la estalactita más grande que resplandezca en la oscuridad.
en
in / on / at
ver
to see / to look / appear
grande
big
querer
to want
que
that / than
más
more
la
the (feminine)
la oscuridad
the darkness
la estalactita
the stalactite
resplandecer
to shine (brightly/radiantly)
Questions & Answers about Quiero ver la estalactita más grande que resplandezca en la oscuridad.
Why is resplandezca in the subjunctive instead of the indicative here?
This sentence uses a relative superlative clause (la estalactita más grande que...) to describe something the speaker wants to find. When you use a superlative to look for something that you haven't identified yet, the verb in the que clause takes the subjunctive. The speaker doesn't know which stalactite is the largest one that glows, or if one definitely exists, so they use resplandezca.
What happens to the meaning if I use the indicative resplandece instead?
The sentence would still be grammatically correct, but the meaning shifts. Using the indicative implies you know for a fact that this specific glowing stalactite exists and you have a particular one in mind. The subjunctive resplandezca shows you are looking for whichever stalactite happens to fit this description.
Where does the "zc" in resplandezca come from?
The infinitive is resplandecer (to shine or glow). Verbs ending in a vowel plus -cer or -cir (like conocer or traducir) have an irregular yo form in the present indicative, adding a "z" before the "c" to make resplandezco. Because the present subjunctive is built from that yo form stem, the "zc" carries over to make resplandezca.
Is más grande always used for "largest", or could I use mayor?
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