Evaluative exclamations with the present subjunctive
When experiencing local customs or neighborhood traditions, you will often want to react emotionally to what is happening around you. To exclaim your feelings about a situation, use the structure ¡Qué + adjective or noun + que..., followed by a verb in the subjunctive.
Because these exclamations express a subjective emotional reaction or an evaluation rather than simply stating an objective fact, they trigger the subjunctive mood.
| How strange that the bell does not ring before the opening speech! | ¡Qué raro que la campana no suene antes del pregón! |
| They say that the neighbors are organizing an open-air festival; how wonderful that the whole neighborhood participates! | Dicen que las vecinas organizan una verbena; ¡qué maravilla que participe todo el barrio! |
| How beautiful that the procession goes through the narrow streets! | ¡Qué bonito que la procesión pase por las calles estrechas! |
| How lucky that they open the old chapel and not the stone one! | ¡Qué suerte que abran la ermita antigua y no la de piedra! |
Evaluative exclamations with the past subjunctive
If you are evaluating or reacting to something that already happened—like a past festival or an event you attended yesterday—you will use the exact same exclamation structure, but the verb following que must be in the imperfect subjunctive.
| What a disaster that the brass band played so badly during the open-air festival! | ¡Qué desastre que la charanga tocara tan mal durante la verbena! |
| What a shame that the grandfather didn't bring the offering for the saint yesterday! | ¡Qué pena que el abuelo no trajera la ofrenda para el santo ayer! |
Your questions are stored by us to improve Elon.io
