The Subjunctive to Express Volition(El subjuntivo usado para expresar volición)

¿Necesitan que los lleve

a casa?

The Subjunctive to Express VolitionVerbs of volition express the wishes, preferences, suggestions, requests, and implied commands of the speaker. When the verb in the main clause expresses volition, the verb in the noun clause is expressed in the subjunctive mode. Following are verbs of volition.

aconsejar

decir

desear

insistir (en)

mandar

necesitar

pedir (i, i)

permitir

prohibir

querer (ie)

recomendar (ie)

sugerir (ie, i)

to advise

to tell

to wish

to insist

to order

to need

to ask

to permit

to prohibit

to want

to recommend

to suggest

The Subjunctive to Express VolitionWith the concept of volition, the subject of the verb in the main clause tries to influence the subject of the dependent noun clase, in other words, to cause or prevent something.

Carmen (querer) + yo (ir) Carmen quiere que yo vaya con ella de vacaciones.

Carmen wants me to go with her on vacation.

ustedes (necesitar) + yo (llevar) ¿Necesitan que los lleve a las montañas?

Do you need (for) me to take you to the mountains?

mi novia (desear) + yo (recoger) Mi novia desea que yo recoja las maletas.

My girlfriend wants me to pick up the luggage.

The Subjunctive to Express VolitionAs mentioned in a previous presentation, when there is no change of subject for the two verbs, we use the infinitive instead of a noun clause.

Sofía (desear) + Sofía (ir) Sofía desea ir a pescar.

Sofía wants to go fishing.

yo (querer) + yo (montar) Yo quiero montar a caballo.

I want to go horseback riding.

The Subjunctive to Express VolitionSentences using verbs such as aconsejar, decir, pedir, recomendar, and sugerir require an indirect object pronoun.

LeI advise you to swim more.Literally, I advise that you swim more.

NosThey ask us to exercise more.Literally, They ask that we exercise more.

This pronoun refers to the subject of the dependent clause.

aconsejo que (Ud.) nade más.

piden que (nosotros) hagamos más ejercicio.

The Subjunctive to Express VolitionWhen verbs of communication such as decir and escribir are used in the main clause and the subject of the verb is simply reporting information (telling someone something), the indicative is used in the dependent clause.

Julia le dice a Juan que llegamos mañana.Julia tells Juan that we are arriving tomorrow.

Les escribo que volvemos el sábado.I’m writing them (to inform them) that we’re returning on Saturday.

INFORMATION

Here, the subjects are not trying to cause or prevent anything, but are merely informing someone of something.

The Subjunctive to Express VolitionIf the verb in the main clause is used in the sense of a command (telling someone to do something), the subjunctive is used.

Julia le dice a Juan que llegue mañana.Julia tells Juan to arrive tomorrow.

Les escribo que vuelvan el sábado.I’m writing for them to return on Saturday.

COMMAND

Here, the subjects are clearly trying to influence someone.

FIN