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When to use the subjunctive?

Test 2: use of that + infinitive in English

We previously looked at a useful clue to when to use the subjunctive in Spanish: namely whether the corresponding English sentence allows the main verb to be "postposed". We also mentioned that in some cases, this test is less effective.

Another useful test for some speakers in English is the possibility of using that with a bare infinitive. This test positively identifies the need for the subjunctive in some sentences. Unfortunately, failure of this test doesn't necessarily mean that the subjunctive isn't used. But the test does help to identify the need for the subjunctive in many cases where the postposition test isn't so helpful.

The general test is as follows:

The test works on sentences such as the following:

My boss insisted that I finished the document by lunchtime.
The French government is demanding that all troops are withdrawn immediately.
We generally prefer that parcels are delivered before 9am.
They are insisting that we should/must not accept the agreement.
 Suggest a change / Cambios sugeridos

In some varieties of English, all of the underlined verbs can be replaced by the corresponding infinitive:

My boss insisted that I finish the document by lunchtime.
The French government is demanding that all troops be withdrawn immediately.
We generally prefer that parcels be delivered before 9am.
They are insisting that we not accept the agreement.
 Suggest a change / Cambios sugeridos

In such cases, the possibility of replacing the verb by an infinitive is a clue that Spanish will use a subjunctive¹. Notice that the rule can be extended to cover cases of a modal verb plus infinitive (such as "should (not) accept"). Where the modal verb can be removed without changing the essential meaning of the sentence (as here), the subjunctive is also generally used in Spanish. (However, Spanish can also parallel English in some cases and use a verb such as deber instead of a subjunctive.)

Omission of that

For some speakers that use the that + infinitive construction, that can actually be omitted as in other cases, so that one or both of the following are grammatical:

My boss insisted I finished the document by lunchtime.
My boss insisted I finish the document by lunchtime.
 Suggest a change / Cambios sugeridos

For some other speakers, that appears to be more or less obligatory in these cases. If in your dialect of English, that is obligatory in sentences such as these, then this can also be a clue that the subjunctive is used in Spanish.

Problems with this test

There at least two problems with this test:

• not all English speakers readily use the that + infinitive construction;
• the test only applies to a subset of sentences of the pattern being discussed, and can't reliably be used to tell when not to use the subjunctive; however, it does positively identify subjunctives in cases where the postposition test is less clear.

1. In traditional grammar, these infinitives are sometimes said to be examples of an "English subjunctive". But technically, there's little support for such an analysis. Subjunctives are conjugated verb forms, and the syntax of phrases such as that they be delivered does not suggest that be is a conjugated verb. Observe, for example, that the phrase can be negated by putting not before the verb: that they not be delivered; this doesn't occur elsewhere with conjugated verbs in English, but does occur elsewhere with negated infinitives. Similarly, compare the ungrammatical *insisted that I not finished with the grammatical insisted that I not finish.

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