USING THE SUBJUNCTIVE WITH DOUBT, DISBELIEF, AND UNCERTAINTY

This may be a new use of the subjunctive tense, but the rules are still the same: the subjects in your main clause and dependent clause must be different, and the verb which appears in your dependent clause MUST be in the subjunctive. The only new twist is that the verb which appears in your main clause is going to be a verb that expresses doubt , disbelief, or uncertainty.

Some common verbs or verb phrases which express doubt or disbelief are:

Dudar - to doubt

No creer - to not believe

No pensar - to not think

No estar seguro/a de - to not be sure of , to be unsure of (people)

No es cierto - it is not certain (impersonal expression)

Es dudoso - it is doubtful (impersonal expression)

No está claro - it is not clear, it is unclear (impersonal expression)

 

Your formula should look something like this:

 

Expression of doubt/disbelief/uncertainty + que + subjunctive

 

Examples:

Dudo que ese hombre esté casado.

Ella no cree que Austin Powers sea cómico.

Ellos no piensan que Pamela Lee tenga pechos perfectos.

Javier no está seguro de que María venga a la fiesta este fin de semana.

No es cierto que tengamos que hacer para la tarea.

Es dudoso que ellas lleguen a clase a tiempo.