Critiquing books and movies
When discussing literature and film, you'll need words like la trama (the plot), el protagonista (the main character), and el desenlace (the ending).
| the plot (narrative thread, storyline) | la trama |
| They say that the plot of this movie is masterful. | Dicen que la trama de esta película es magistral. |
Reacting to facts: el hecho de que
In Spanish, whenever you express an emotional reaction, a judgment, or an opinion about a situation, you use the subjunctive.
This rule applies even to established facts. When you use the phrase el hecho de que ("the fact that") to evaluate something, the verb that follows must be in the subjunctive because you are filtering the fact through your own subjective reaction.
| The fact that the plot is predictable bores me. | El hecho de que la trama sea predecible me aburre. |
Notice that the verb sea is in the subjunctive because the speaker is expressing how the fact makes them feel (me aburre).
| The fact that the main character dies is surprising. | El hecho de que el protagonista muera es sorprendente. |
| The fact that the characters evolve improves the story. | El hecho de que los personajes evolucionen mejora la historia. |
Expressing likes and dislikes
You can use el hecho de que to explain exactly what you love, hate, or find annoying about a story. Whether the phrase acts as the subject of the sentence or the object of a verb like odiar (to hate), the rule stays the same: use the subjunctive.
| The actress hates the fact that the dialogue is superficial. | La actriz odia el hecho de que el diálogo sea superficial. |
| The fact that the rescue is implausible bothers the girls. | A las chicas les molesta el hecho de que el rescate sea inverosímil. |
| The fact that the narrator lies confuses the audience. | El hecho de que el narrador mienta confunde al público. |
