The exceptions and their rules.

The exceptions and their rules.

I have observant students. I think I get all the really observant ones. That if a company is looking for observant people, they should look among my students.

If you don’t believe me, observe this:

If you have already studied the subjunctive, you know that after verbs of opinion and belief we use:

• El indicativo si es una afirmación: por ejemplo, creo que Dios existe. The indicative if it is an affirmation: for example, I believe that God exists.
• El subjuntivo si es una negación: siguiendo con el mismo ejemplo: no creo que Dios exista. The subjunctive if it is a negation: following the same example: I don’t believe that God exists.

But one of my students, who is doing a master’s degree in comparative literature (in Spanish!), got up one day and saw the following message in a WhatsApp group he had with some classmates from the master’s program:

“No piensen que no soy responsable, pero no llego a terminar mi parte para hoy.”

“Don’t think I’m not responsible, but I didn’t finish my part for today.”

They were doing group work, and this classmate was letting them know he was behind on his part.

And my student, instead of thinking about the deadline, what was left to do, how to fix it… he kept wondering why he wrote “soy” instead of “sea.”

He was about to write something to the other student, to tell him he had to write “sea.” Luckily, he wrote to me first. I don’t have the greatest analytical skills when I first woke up, but I told him it was better not to write anything to him.

As a rule (or as an exception, I don’t know anymore) it’s not a good idea to correct a native speaker…

Then, analyzing the sentence, I realized it was an exception. When the verb of the denied belief or thought is in the imperative, the verb that follows is in the indicative. That’s why we say: : “No creas que te estoy mintiendo” (“Don’t think I’m lying to you,”), ”no pienses que voy a mi casa, voy a trabajar” (“Don’t think I’m going home, I’m going to work,”) etc.

That is to say, there are rules and there are exceptions. And exceptions have their rules. This one applies when the main verb is in the imperative.

All this I’m telling you doesn’t mean that native speakers often speak poorly. And yes, I’m now sure, as a rule, it’s better not to correct them. And as an exception, yes.

Before we say goodbye, I want to share my courses for very observant students. Where I explain the rules, the exceptions, and the rules of the exceptions: https://verbum.biz/aha-spanish-courses/

Mastering these exceptions takes practice — and feedback.
Whether you’re in Buenos Aires or learning from home, we can help you get there.