📖LearnModule 8 · Lesson 13 of 30Independent User · CEFR B2, first halfUnit 3 · El subjuntivo ampliado
The negated opinion
Module 8 of the free Spanish course (CEFR B2, first half), lesson 13 of 30: Creo que tiene razón uses the indicative — you are asserting it. On this page: 8 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
creo que tiene razón
I think he is right
KREH-oh keh TYEH-neh rrah-SOHN
no creo que tenga razón
I do not think he is right
noh KREH-oh keh TEHN-gah rrah-SOHN
afirmar
to assert
ah-feer-MAR
negar
to deny
neh-GAR
el matiz
the shade of meaning
ehl mah-TEES
el sentido
the meaning
ehl sehn-TEE-doh
defender una idea
to stand behind an idea
deh-fehn-DEHR OO-nah ee-DEH-ah
con cautela
cautiously
kohn kow-TEH-lah
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
Creo que tiene razón uses the indicative — you are asserting it. No creo que tenga razón uses the subjunctive, because negating the opinion puts the fact in doubt. Same verb, two moods, two different claims.
Y también · And also
The same switch runs through pensar, parecer and estar seguro: no pienso que sea verdad, no me parece que valga la pena, no estoy seguro de que venga. Choosing the mood is not decoration here; it tells your reader how much you are standing behind the clause.
Ojo · Watch out
creo que tiene razón (indicative) asserts it; no creo que tenga razón (subjunctive) doubts it. The negative moves the mood. A question after creer can go either way; the negative cannot.
tener, presente de subjuntivo — the table
yo tenga · tú tengas · él/ella/usted tenga · nosotros tengamos · ustedes tengan · ellos/ellas tengan
pensar, presente de subjuntivo — the table
yo piense · tú pienses · él/ella/usted piense · nosotros pensemos · ustedes piensen · ellos/ellas piensen
Do it now — on paper
Say all 8 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the Spanish spelling alone — begin with creo que tiene razón.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the Spanish.
Write out tener, presente de subjuntivo and pensar, presente de subjuntivo 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.