The antes de que vs antes de has never been explained to me. This video alone will boost my Spanish big time! I’m looking forward to you thoroughly breaking down the subjunctive. Thx. I’m glad I found this channel.
You are the first non-native Spanish teacher I’ve met who’s approach is matching my needs perfectly❣️ Thankfully my first foreign language has been English 😉
Yes! 🙌🏼 Fellow Floridian living in Spain. I am the person you describe whose Spanish has plateaued due to resistance to the subjunctive 🙋🏼♀️🙈 your videos are so helpful and I’m really looking forward to your new series. Thank you!! 😊
This is perfect. I was so tired of seeing that acronym WOOPA (Wishes, Opinions, Obligations, Possibilities, Afterwards) used to try and learn the groups of subjunctive triggers. This is going to be great. A much more sensible way to grasp this concept. I used to go down a checklist in my head before uttering a sentence. This will help me sound much more fluid.
I've been waiting for this for years! I looked for 'que' as a possible trigger, but knew it was faulty rule, and didn't even understand if/why/when it worked.
I'm a missionary serving in the Dominican Republic and have found you to be the best Spanish learning channel on youtube. I am also a native English speaker and your incite and the way you break the idioma down has been greatly beneficial. I also like how you have one topic per video. Sometimes videos pack too much into one video making Spanish feel even more overwhelming. Thanks Paul, keep up the good work, and thanks for your police service.
Thank you very much for the feedback. I used to be guilty of packing too much into a video but I have been trying to keep them short and sweet lately. Take care and thank you for your service there in the DR. I'm sure you are helping people o on a daily basis.
Wow thanks so much! Even though I grew up speaking an Italian dialect when I finally started to learn actual Italian the subjunctive plagued me for decades… okay, it still does to this day! I love the way you explain and teach it - and that you emphasize that it should be learned starting as a beginning student. Genius! Seriously should be the way Spanish & Italian are taught in and out of schools!
In Mexico I learned the popular saying "El hubiera no existe" and it helped me immensely in understanding the most challenging form of the subjunctive.
Qroo this video was made for me!!! I am the person that feels like I hit a plateau. This video really stimulated my mind and I’m excited for this series
Paul, you are so right about when to learn the subjunctive. I had been learning the for a awhile, thought I was progressing well. Then BOOM, my teacher starts with with this totally unheard of thing called, subjunctive. Wish I had learned the subjective much earlier. Thanks for your efforts.
Thanks Paul. I have learnt Spanish for three years and lived in Queretaro for two years. First time going in to subjunctive and you have presented a complicated subject so simply. Big thankyou.
I love your videos. I've been following you for some time now. I have been studying the subjunctive for the past several months and I didn't really find it all that difficult. BUT...the key is knowing those triggers. If one acknowledges the triggers, it's not difficult to use the subjunctive on the fly. There was an excellent self-guided program that I did purchase (when I began learning the subjunctive) offered by another RU-vid Spanish teacher that nailed it down for me and it was well worth the (very affordable) price. Her program coupled with your videos has really made my knowledge of the subjunctive that much more robust. I use the subjunctive all the time now when I am conversing with native speakers and tutors. Thank you so very much for putting these videos together for us. You're awesome.
Brother, I also love the Spanish subjunctive, even if it's a pain in the ass at times. Thanks for not skirting around this important topic. I feel like my Spanish jumped a huge distance after learning the subjunctive a whole back. I'm still trying ti master it. Keep the awesome videos coming.
Thank you Qroo I am back out of retirement and working a short gig in San Antonio. After four years in Mexico my Spanish is very bad. Watching your videos has me in the saddle again to be better in conversing in Spanish.
Many thanks for this introduction to the subjunctive, which I had viewed with some trepidation. I plan to go through all the subjunctive episodes , and overcome my fears . Many thanks once again for making it seem possible .
Paul you have such a wonderful way of teaching and great ability to pick the topic areas that will be most useful for us newbies to Spanish. Thanks so much.
Another reason to not just rely on the idea of “expressing doubt” as requiring the subjunctive is using a phrase with “if”/“si”. Using “if” (in Spanish “si”) in my mind expresses doubt but does not trigger the subjunctive. I naturally used the right tense with “si” until I heard about the “expressing doubt or uncertainty” as triggering the subjunctive. Then I started doubting myself! 😅
Oh I love this! You are a true gem. I met someone yesterday who straight up told me “I don’t use subjunctive in Spanish” I was confused. They seem at least B2 level.
Thank you, Qroo Paul! Your information is very helpful. I have always dreaded the Subjunctive Mood, but your lessons make them easier to understand. Keep up the teaching.
Really great approach to the subjunctive bugaboo. I’m fluent in Spanish and mostly the subjunctive comes naturally but still I occasionally second guess (or correct) myself mid-sentence. I learned 40 years ago by just being with only native Spanish speakers who did not speak English. Kind of like a kid but 20 years later. I think your approach will make the subjunctive a lot less intimidating for learners.
You are an awesome teacher and I love your humor! At times it is like you read my mind. I think “OK, but what about this?” And then it is like we are having a conversation and you answer my questions. I have tried for many years to learn Spanish to fluency and now realize that I have many holes in my learning. Thank you for filling in those areas that I missed. The next big thing I need to conquer is when my mind wants to turn off when listening to Spanish conversations. I get so overwhelmed at the speed of the language. I guess more listening practices. Thank you
I try to give simple directions to my coworkers in Spanish. Depending on the person who helps me develop the instructions, they can vary quite a bit. For example, if I want to tell my crew to clean the production line, I could say "Todos limpiar" but I prefer "Tenemos que limpiar la línea hasta que la máquina esté lista." Antes de que, is not a phrase I use currently but I will work it in my conversations. I prefer to watch lessons from native speakers but your explanations have been very helpful. Thank you.
Thanks so much for coaching the subjunctive. I’ve been studying Spanish for years but I avoided learning and using this tense. I was scared of it! No more! I watched your video on which order to learn the tenses. A lightbulb moment! 😮 I am now tackling the subjunctive and I am also making a point of using it in my twice weekly lessons with my teachers in Spain. And I’m getting there! Interestingly, the grammar section of SpanishDict only coaches it in the topics for Advanced learner!!!!! I’m so grateful to you for opening my eyes to the subjunctive 😂
Thanks for taking the time to comment. I really appreciate the feedback. I hope that you enjoy this series. I plan to go through the triggers in sections, and hopefully by the end, you'll be using the subjunctive like a pro. :)
Hello Paul, I just wanted to send you some praise. I used your videos and this past weekend tested officially as a C1 level. Your videos motivated and inspired me a lot to continue with my goal. You set the bar extremely high for quality language videos, I am now starting Arabic and struggling to find someone who can explain things simply in the way you do. I hope this give you a little motivation to keep doing what you do. Cheers.
Thank you for explaining this and using actual contextual triggers! I read the definition of subjunctive that you shared here and it triggered the Charlie Brown teacher voice in my head. I feel like I spend so much time trying to understand *that* that it takes away from productive language skills. This is much more helpful.
Greetings from Taiwan! I learned Spanish back in high school in the USA and I’ve tried a couple of times to pick it up again without much luck. I stumbled on your channel a while back and was really impressed with your explanations, especially of the subjunctive. I’m especially excited about this new series you’ve started. You’ve motivated me to try learning it again. Hopefully this time I’ll have better luck. 🤞🏻
You read my mind. When I first learned it is a “mood” I thought “what if I’m never in the mood?” 🤷🏻♀️🤨 My WEIRDO chart just confuses me because of all the variables. Bring it on! ¡Espero que puedas ayudarme!
What a treat! You've really helped demystify the subjunctive and brought it into focus for me. Sincerest thanks for all the time and effort you dedicate in making such excellent videos to help others learn Spanish! Wishing you all the best.
Just discovered your channel recently, as I'm trying this year to return to conversational Spanish. I was trained at a university in 2006. I don't recall learning (or at least practicing) much of the subjunctive mood. I'm excited to learn with you! Thank you for making this all seem attainable!
Gracias Qroo Paul por esta serie tan importante.👍 ¡Sé que necesito reaccionar a los 'triggers' cuando hablo español y usar el subjuntivo correctamente!🎯 I think of ANTES DE QUE as sometime before + subjuntivo. ¡Unos ejemplos mios para practicar porque la repetición es la clave! 1. Tiene que dominar el sujunctivo antes de que se puede decir que habla español muy bien.(= same subject, usted.)😉 2. Antes de que lleguen las notas de tus examenes, tienes que avisar a tus padres.
Paul..me encanta tu explicación del sunjuntivo. But the same meanings of a sentence, you can use the infinitive or in other words, eliminating the "que " takes the present form of the verb. Just the beauty and flexibility of Spanish.
Excellent Paul, gracias por la leccion. Eres el major profesor de espanol. Espero que segas haciendo los videos. Gracias de nuevo. (No subject change:) )
Thank you for the vid, great idea for a vid. Suggestion for the series - When there isn’t a subject change yet the subjunctive is used, what would it signify? I see that rule being broken frequently.
Hey Paul! I bought the reference book you recommended (Routledge Reference Grammars). I couldn't figure out what the purpose of the subjunctive mood was until I read, on page 278, Section 20.11, an excellent explanation of why it exists - to clarify and distinguish different meanings in a sentence that in English could be considered ambiguous. Thanks for the tip.
Qroo, great way of explaining one of the most controversial topics in the process of learning Spanish. Nevertheless, I should warn about the overstatement that could result from saying that this "que + subjunctive" trigger, applies all the time and in every context. These kind of sentences can be formulated in Indicative and still make sense, although with a -from slight to very- different meaning. 1. Tengo que comprar palomitas la película. (I need to buy popcorn before the movie starts) Siempre compra palomitas empieza la película. (He always buys popcorn before the movie starts (He does this as a habit)) 2. Quiero encontrar un lugar seguro para acampar (I want to find a safe place to camp before it gets dark) Normalmente encuentra un lugar seguro para acampar (He always finds a safe place to camp before it gets dark. He does this as a habit) In some cases, the use of Indicative or Subjunctive, might generate a radical semantical change. 3. Debemos tomarlo antes de que se enfríe (We should drink it before it gets cold). Debemos tomarlo antes de que se enfría (y no después de que se enfría). (We should drink it before, and only BEFORE it gets cold. Not after). In #3, the use of Subjunctive mode implies a consequence. Drink it before OR it will get cold (consequence), while the use of Indicative denotes ordinal-type instructions in a process. Drink it BEFORE it gets cold. Don't drink it AFTER it gets cold. I hope I explained myself. Your method is very good and effective in the broader sense. I would just substitute the world "always" for "usually".
Great video. Can you do a video on when to use hubiera tenido vs tuviera, or hubiera sabido vs supiera, when using the constructive. Those 2 structures I mix up sometimes, because I feel they’re very similar.
“Antes que” can be used pretty much interchangeably with “antes de que” and therefore also takes the subjunctive. I use “antes que” more than “antes de que”. Correct me, Paul, if there are instances where they aren’t interchangeable.
I’m REALLY. Liking your “Subjunctive” series. Would please do something similar for the “Imperfect” tense? It’s causing a great deal of frustration and confusion, and I think a series by you would be extremely helpful. Thank you for your consideration!
Could you please Explain More How to use " DE QUE " as Subordinada? Muchas Gracias in Advance! I remember we had a little chat about Continuing your other series From Zero to Conversational, Muchas Gracias for it too!
