El subjuntivo: expresar hipótesis (videolección)

In the Plaza Mayor, Pilar asks Jean François, a Canadian from Montreal, to guess some curiosities about the square: how many balconies and gates it has and what its first name was. His answers are full of hypotheses.

Learn how to use the subjunctive tense in Spanish with our student Jean Françoise, and discover one of our most emblematic places in Madrid: Plaza Mayor. The Spanish Sessions, free Spanish videolessons online.

Key points

Quizás, tal vez and probablemente can take the subjunctive: quizás tenga más de 200 balcones.
Creer, suponer or imaginar take the indicative in the affirmative: supongo que tiene seis o siete puertas.
The Plaza Mayor has 237 balconies and nine entrances; the most famous is the Arco de Cuchilleros.
It was first called Plaza del Arrabal, and King Philip III ordered its transformation in 1619.

Frequent doubts

Quizás with the indicative or the subjunctive?

Both are possible. With the subjunctive (quizás tenga) the hypothesis sounds less certain than with the indicative (quizás tiene).

Why “supongo que tiene” with the indicative?

Because suponer, creer or imaginar in the affirmative take the indicative; in the negative, the subjunctive: No creo que tenga.

Whose statue is in the centre of the Plaza Mayor?

An equestrian statue of King Philip III, who ordered the transformation of the square in 1619.

Part of Spanish Sessions, the YouTube channel of the teachers at Tilde Madrid — more than 3 million views.

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Key points

Frequent doubts

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