📖LearnModule 8 · Lesson 15 of 30Independent User · CEFR B2, first halfUnit 3 · El subjuntivo ampliado
The unknown antecedent
Module 8 of the free Spanish course (CEFR B2, first half), lesson 15 of 30: One more trigger. 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
busco un hotel que tenga piscina
I am looking for a hotel that has a pool
BOOS-koh oon oh-TEHL keh TEHN-gah pee-SEE-nah
conozco un hotel que tiene piscina
I know a hotel that has a pool
koh-NOHS-koh oon oh-TEHL keh TYEH-neh pee-SEE-nah
el hotel
the hotel
ehl oh-TEHL
no hay nadie que pueda ayudarnos
there is nobody who can help us
noh eye NAH-dyeh keh PWEH-dah ah-yoo-DAR-nohs
el antecedente
the antecedent
ehl ahn-teh-seh-DEHN-teh
desconocido
unknown (m)
dehs-koh-noh-SEE-doh
ayudar
to help
ah-yoo-DAR
el juicio
the judgment
ehl HWEE-syoh
notable
remarkable
noh-TAH-bleh
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
One more trigger, and it surprises people: a relative clause about something you are still LOOKING FOR, or that may not exist. Busco un hotel que tenga piscina — I am looking for a hotel that has a pool (any such hotel). Conozco un hotel que tiene piscina — a real one, indicative.
Y también · And also
No hay nadie que pueda ayudarnos — there is nobody who can help us: the person does not exist, so the verb goes to the subjunctive. The mood carries the difference between a hotel you know and a hotel you hope for; the words do not.
Ojo · Watch out
A relative clause about something unknown or nonexistent takes the subjunctive: busco un hotel que tenga piscina, no hay nadie que pueda. A known thing keeps the indicative: conozco un hotel que tiene piscina.
hablar, presente de subjuntivo — the table
yo hable · tú hables · él/ella/usted hable · nosotros hablemos · ustedes hablen · ellos/ellas hablen
estar, presente de subjuntivo — the table
yo esté · tú estés · él/ella/usted esté · nosotros estemos · ustedes estén · ellos/ellas estén
Do it now — on paper
Say all 9 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the Spanish spelling alone — begin with busco un hotel que tenga piscina.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the Spanish.
Write out hablar, presente de subjuntivo and estar, 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.