Español — Subjunctive: emotion & judgment
When you react to a fact with an emotion or a value judgment, Spanish uses que + the subjunctive: me alegra que vengas, es una pena que no puedas. The subordinate verb never stays in the indicative.
How it works
An expression of emotion (me alegra que, me molesta que) or of judgment (es normal que, es importante que, es una pena que, está bien que) followed by que triggers the subjunctive in the following clause: es importante que estudies, está bien que descanses. This holds only when the two clauses have different subjects.
Examples
| Sentence | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Me alegra que vengas. | I'm glad you're coming. |
| Me molesta que llegues tarde. | It bothers me that you arrive late. |
| Es normal que estés cansado. | It's normal that you're tired. |
| Es importante que estudies. | It's important that you study. |
| Es una pena que no puedas venir. | It's a shame you can't come. |
| Está bien que descanses. | It's good that you rest. |
Good to know
If both clauses share the same subject, drop que and use the infinitive: me alegra verte, not me alegra que (yo) te vea; es importante estudiar. Also note es verdad que and es evidente que assert a fact, so they take the indicative: es verdad que estás cansado.