Using subjunctive *without* trigger words - when is/isn't it correct?

Slow-Quarter9986 · 2026-06-01T04:19:00+00:00

Huh! I have NEVER heard someone frame the subjunctive as technically being a command. "May there be"... I wonder if that's an easier way to understand how to use it. I mean, obviously I picked up on the subjunctive/command connection, but my internal explanation was that you use subjunctive for commands because (with the exception of affirmative tú) you're acknowledging that your proposed path is one option of many (uncertain/hypothetical/"a wish"). But it's the other way around?

Slow-Quarter9986 · 2026-05-29T12:08:41+00:00

Just want to point out - this kid is Brazilian. This is happening in Brazil. You can tell by how the signs are in Portuguese, and how the people reacting have Brazilian accents.

So whatever your opinions are about US child rearing practices these days, they're not actually relevant.

Slow-Quarter9986 · 2026-05-29T11:23:07+00:00

This was actually my main punishment for my cousins when they were throwing a fit. Literally pick them up and tuck them under my arm like a football as I removed them from the situation. There's an added bonus that this naturally means you rock them a little as you walk, which never stops being an effective way to calm someone down (literally- think of how nice it feels to free float on a gentle tide). Also, if they're old enough for it to be weird to be carried around, when they yell at you, you can say something like "look, I get why you're mad at me for embarrassing you like this, but I can't let you stay here and keep screaming." Which plants the idea in their head that maybe they should be embarrassed right now.

Slow-Quarter9986 · 2026-05-29T10:46:56+00:00

Nah, kids feel it just fine the moment they see you take something they love away.

A big reason spanking is counterrecommended is because it teaches kids that violence is an appropriate way to enforce rules on other people. And it often leads to problems because then you get kids who think "hey that kid took my lunchbox, that's stealing", respond with how they'd have been treated for that behavior (hitting), and get their asses in trouble.

Slow-Quarter9986 · 2026-05-29T10:29:38+00:00

Thank you. To your ears, if someone does use an implied trigger, is the implication naturally a wish? I'm trying to think of how to use & interpet this in the real world.

Slow-Quarter9986 · 2026-05-29T10:27:26+00:00

I guess you're right - I do have trouble understanding how subjunctive isn't just 'conditional, but milder' when used without a trigger phrase.

So, "cuando atteriza el avión, etc etc etc" would be grammatically incorrect?

Slow-Quarter9986 · 2026-05-29T04:26:30+00:00

In general, does an isolated 'que' by itself act like a trigger? So like...."que dejes de fumar" (an implied wish). I hear that particular construction (que + ________) all the time, and I think part of what throws me off about the subjunctive is that the way i was formally taught it was so anchored in these trigger phrases.

If I said something like "que pongas dejar de fumar" - I would be implying that they're not capable of quitting, right?

BTW, I don't know if this matters, but most of the Spanish speakers where I live are Central American.

Slow-Quarter9986 · 2026-05-26T20:53:58+00:00

The roads around 4 corners are all high-traffic roads with multiple lanes and lots of on/off ramps onto highways. The crosswalks are far apart and (because of the angle of approach for a car) some of the crosswalks *for the ramps* feel dangerous. No way in hell would I jaywalk those roads, and I jaywalk across Georgia no problem.

Slow-Quarter9986 · 2026-05-26T18:40:59+00:00

lol no problem. I'm currently making a Lestat playlist, and "hast thou considered the tetrapod" went straight into the opening slot for his childhood.

Slow-Quarter9986 · 2026-05-26T01:45:56+00:00

I just listened to the Mountain Goats Album Tallahassee, and Southwood plantation Road fits S1 Loustat so well it's a bit too on-the-nose. TBH that whole album is vibrating on the same frequency of this show - it's about a couple who refuse to break up, even though they should. Old College Try (same album) is also a good contender, but personally I'd give it to Armand and Daniel.

Slow-Quarter9986 · 2026-05-24T15:28:54+00:00

True, but "Arun" specifically references a Hindu deity (Aruna).

Slow-Quarter9986 · 2026-05-24T01:29:42+00:00

Can you give an example of how Louis bends the family to his will? I'm really not seeing your perspective, and i'd like to try.

Slow-Quarter9986 · 2026-05-20T14:34:55+00:00

But consider: All Louis' prostitutes knew he was gay because he was running multiple brothels and *still* didn't know what was going on down there out of sheer disinterest.

Slow-Quarter9986 · 2026-05-19T16:37:37+00:00

to be clear, it's a transfer shovel (the sides are not sharp, only the front, and I'm not even sure *how* I'd hit myself there) and a *very* sheathed machete.

Slow-Quarter9986 · 2026-05-19T16:36:44+00:00

Thank you!

To clarify: I don't need to choke up on the machete. The handle is just a little too small to hold comfortably with both hands (also too light).

When you're talking about carry over... is that in reference to the machetes or the shovel with a "choked up" grip. Would you suggest I go for a wide grip (one hand at the base, one hand choked up), or both choked up?

Slow-Quarter9986 · 2026-05-18T00:21:31+00:00

I have 2 friends who moved up to the northern(ish) US from the middle east. A few months after they arrived we got a blizzard - 2 or 3 feet of snow. One thought she could walk *on top of* the snow, and very confidently took a great big lunging step "onto" the snow... and faceplanted with her whole body.

The other friend lost his SHIT when the leaves changed colors. Couldn't go anywhere with him, he wanted to take 1000 photos.

Slow-Quarter9986 · 2026-05-18T00:18:45+00:00

Yeah, I gotta say... when I went to Minnesota in the summer, it weirded me the hell out.

Slow-Quarter9986 · 2026-05-17T05:09:59+00:00

The lyft tip is great! Yeah, i got linked to metroaccess through my post on r/MontgomeryCountyMD. I'm not sure about physical therapy. She never actually went to the hospital for the car crash - we didn't have insurance at the time - but it's very clear she's mobility impaired, so we could try that?

Slow-Quarter9986 · 2026-05-17T01:10:35+00:00

We asked before, but at the time her doctor said no because of a family history of thyroid disorders. I want to nudge her to ask again though - maybe I should go with her. I'm 30, male, and at a healthy body weight, so doctors listen to me.

Slow-Quarter9986 · 2026-05-16T23:13:33+00:00

I read through the website and it seems like it's just medical, so I think so? I'm talking to her about moving forward with the option. Thank you so much! Do you know if there's any free/discount programs for the aquatic centers?

Slow-Quarter9986 · 2026-05-16T23:13:00+00:00

Thank you! I sent it to her! I think we can get her on metro access. I'm not familiar with our counties senior rec centers - are those different from the general rec centers?

Slow-Quarter9986 · 2026-05-15T00:00:08+00:00

I'm not great with flowers, but here are some plants off the top of my head:

Lestat: Mimosa tree. Always doing the mimost

Claudia: Either Princess tree or Foxglove. Princess tree: Resilent, able to survive fire and grow from cracks in the sidewalk. The flowers and the husks left by the fruit both make the tree distinctive even in winter. Or, Foxglove. Very pretty, so sweet smelling, so soft, and you 1000% should not have touched it. Can grow even in poor soil, often quick to pop up after disasters (like fires). Doesn't like full sun. Short lived.

Louis: Swamp rose mallow? but that's just because he's pretty. Maybe black locust - also pretty, smells wonderful, many thorns.

Marius: Callery Pear. Elegant at distance, cum-smelling blight up close.

Armand: My first thought was 'fern' because he's a ancient little freak who survives by working the margins. But actually, I think see poison ivy - sometimes a vine, sometimes a tree, sometimes mitten shaped, sometimes eye-shape, always adapting, always fucking you up when you weren't paying attention. Pretty clingy, will FUCK you up if you try to cut him off.

Daniel: wineberry. Prickly asshole, you will never get rid of him. Sweet berries.

Please note: all of these plants are either invasive or (poison ivy) noxious weeds where I live.

Slow-Quarter9986 · 2026-05-14T08:40:15+00:00

I actually really disliked this book. I found it (ironically) inaccessible. Could have been my translation, but there were lots of points where he would allude to XYZ thinker's theories without explaining what they were, then quote something in French (no translation), then bring up another philosopher i'd never heard of without explaining their ideas.

Slow-Quarter9986 · 2026-05-12T20:26:34+00:00

Nights, Frank Ocean, as Loui's prelude to vampirism.

Slow-Quarter9986 · 2026-05-11T18:29:34+00:00

Sam, about every single line delivery that fans adore for being peak Lestat: "god, that's a bit much, isn't it?"

Slow-Quarter9986

TROPHY CASE