The Subjunctive Mood - Unraveling the Mystery

I was teaching a class on the subjunctive the other day, and my students were quite perplexed with how to implement the subjunctive mood.  The use of the subjunctive is a major hurdle in the life cycle of gaining Spanish fluency.  Using the subjunctive in English is quite different than in Spanish.  In English, the infinitive is generally used:

I want you to drive me to the airport.  

Notice the indicative clause is "I want you...." and the dependent subjunctive clause is "..to drive me to the airport."  The beginning of the subjunctive clause is actually the infinitive form of the verb.

In Spanish, on the other hand, we have to battle a whole new beast of verb conjugations.  Whenever there is a dependent or subordinate clause the subjunctive conjugation is always used, never the infinitive.  So, this would be wrong:

Yo te quiero manejar al aeropuerto.  

This would actually be translated as "I want to drive YOU to the airport"!

No, we must instead use the conjunction "que (that)" followed by the subjunctive conjugation, like this:

Yo quiero que me manejes al aeropuerto.

I want you to drive me to the airport.   

You will notice that the Spanish format of Independent Clause + que + Dependent Clause is very well apparent, as are the indicative and subjunctive forms of each verb.

Here's a good tip: re-write as best you can the English sentence so that the conjunction "que" takes on the meaning of "that" in English.  Confused?  Look: instead of saying "I want you to drive me to the airport" re-write it so it says:

I want THAT you drive me to the airport.  

Instead of saying "I need you to pick me up, too", say

I need THAT you pick me up, too.  

You can see both the Indicative clause and the Subjunctive clause more clearly at play here.  So, the above sentence can easily be transcribed to Spanish like this:

Yo necesito QUE me recojas, también.

If you are unsure of the subjunctive conjugation, please review that topic.  It can be found in any Spanish textbook.

Interesting way to ask, "How have you been?"

¡Muchísimas gracias a mi amigo Chepo de Ciudad de México que me envió esta frase ayer!  ¡Puro chilango! 

The phrase below is used to ask someone how they have been, or what have they been up to.  You will notice that it doesn't translate word for word.  It is what is known as "el caló" (slang). Here it is:


¡Qué milanesas que ya bisteces, yo pensaba que ya morongas! ¿Qué transita por sus venas? 

Attempted translation:

What a miracle that I am seeing you now.  I thought that you were already dead!  What's happenin'?

This phrase is a very localized expression and is scarcely heard outside of the confines of Mexico City. It refers to a lot of meat products, like milanesas(schnitzel), morongas(blood sausage from a pig), and bisteces (beef steaks).  

There are many slang expressions in US English that are similar to the one above, as well.  Observe:

What's shakin'?  How's it going?

What's crackin'? How's it going?

What's the haps? What's happening?

Wussup? What's up?

Whaddup, playa? What's up, friend? 

What's cracklating?  My it has been a long time.  What's up?   

Can you think of any other expressions?  If so, leave them in the Comment section below. 

Again, thank you SO much for this contribution Chepo....hasta la próxima.....