📖LearnModule 8 · Lesson 12 of 30Independent User · CEFR B2, first halfUnit 3 · El subjuntivo ampliado
Doubt takes it too
Module 8 of the free Spanish course (CEFR B2, first half), lesson 12 of 30: Certainty takes the indicative; doubt takes the subjunctive. On this page: 9 words with their genders and respellings, the rule, a watch-out line, the conjugation table and the audio — the study notes behind the workbook's QR.
The words
Spanish
English
Say it
dudo que
I doubt that
DOO-doh keh
es posible que
it is possible that
ehs poh-SEE-bleh keh
puede que
it may be that
PWEH-deh keh
estoy seguro de que
I am sure that
ehs-TOY seh-GOO-roh deh keh
es probable que
it is likely that
ehs proh-BAH-bleh keh
la duda
the doubt
lah DOO-dah
la certeza
the certainty
lah sehr-TEH-sah
la posibilidad
the possibility
lah poh-see-bee-lee-DAHD
yo dudo que venga
I doubt that he is coming
yoh DOO-doh keh BEHN-gah
Respellings follow the course’s say-it key; the stressed syllable is in capitals. Print this lesson’s flashcards (PDF) — the words on the front, the English and respelling on the back.
La regla · The rule
Certainty takes the indicative; doubt takes the subjunctive. Estoy seguro de que viene. Dudo que venga. That single pair is the whole rule, and it is worth writing out twice.
Y también · And also
Possibility counts as doubt: es posible que, puede que, es probable que — and unlike French, Spanish keeps the subjunctive even for the likely case: es probable que venga. Only real certainty gets the indicative: es evidente que viene, está claro que viene.
Ojo · Watch out
estoy seguro de que takes the indicative; dudo que, es posible que, puede que AND es probable que all take the subjunctive. In Spanish, probable is not certain enough — es probable que venga.
creer, presente de subjuntivo — the table
yo crea · tú creas · él/ella/usted crea · nosotros creamos · ustedes crean · ellos/ellas crean
dudar, presente — the table
yo dudo · tú dudas · él/ella/usted duda · nosotros dudamos · ustedes dudan · ellos/ellas dudan
Do it now — on paper
Say all 9 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the Spanish spelling alone — begin with dudo que.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the Spanish.
Write out creer, presente de subjuntivo and dudar, presente in full from memory, every person, and check each form against the table above.
This free course is the reading half. The writing half — write-in lessons, daily practice pages with built-in review, self-checks and a full answer key — is the companion workbook series, The Spanish Ladder: one workbook per module, fifteen in all, released band by band with the Basic band (Modules 1–5) first.
Keep these words
Turn this lesson’s words into flashcards, then space your reviews — the two habits the research behind our study guides backs hardest.