Unknown Places
When referring to a specific, known place, use donde with the indicative. But when talking about an unknown or hypothetical place—such as looking for "wherever" there is a parking spot—use donde followed by the present subjunctive.
The present subjunctive of hay (there is / there are) is haya.
| Upon arriving downtown, we park wherever there is a free spot. | Al llegar al centro, aparcamos donde haya un hueco libre. |
| I am going to put the car wherever I see a spot. | Voy a meter el coche donde vea un hueco. |
Squeezing In
Finding parking often involves settling for whatever spot you can find. The verb caber (to fit) has the irregular present subjunctive form quepa.
| Leave the car wherever it fits, son. | Deja el coche donde quepa, hijo. |
You can also use this structure to set conditions for your ideal spot, such as "wherever it isn't in the way" or "wherever there is no parking meter" (el parquímetro).
| Sometimes I double-park wherever it isn't in the way. | A veces aparco en doble fila donde no moleste. |
| Park wherever there is no parking meter, please. | Aparca donde no haya parquímetro, por favor. |
Setting Criteria
Use donde + subjunctive to describe places that meet any criteria you are looking for, such as finding shade (la sombra) or a place with enough space to do a maneuver (la maniobra).
| Look for a spot wherever there is shade, please. | Busca un hueco donde haya sombra, por favor. |
| I do the maneuver wherever there is space. | Hago la maniobra donde haya espacio. |
Whether you are trying not to scrape (rozar) another car or avoiding a no-parking driveway (el vado), the subjunctive emphasizes that the exact location is yet to be found.
| Park slowly wherever you won't scrape other cars. | Aparca despacio donde no roces otros coches. |
| The grandfather takes the car wherever there are no driveways. | El abuelo lleva el coche donde no haya vados. |
