Mood alternation II: -quiera relatives, concessive así / porque, speaker commitment

What it is

You know the big mood rules: subjunctive for what is wished, doubted or not yet real; indicative for what you assert. At C2 the frame often stays the same and the mood alone changes the meaning. The main cases:

• the -quiera relatives (relativos inespecíficos: dondequiera, quienquiera, comoquiera, cuandoquiera que), English "wherever, whoever, however, whenever";
• the reduplicated formulas that replace them in conversation (digan lo que digan, sea quien sea);
• concessive así and porque with the subjunctive (así me paguen el doble, porque grites más), plus a riesgo de que;
• hacer como que + indicative ("pretend") next to como si + imperfect subjunctive;
• negated verbs of saying and thinking, where the mood shows whether you vouch for what you report.

How to form it

The -quiera relatives are one word, followed by que. The subjunctive is the default: the place, person, manner or time is open or unknown. The indicative appears only for real, known cases, usually a past habit. Cuandoquiera que exists but is rare; cuando does the job.

Reduplicated formulas put the same present subjunctive on both sides of a relative word: vayas adonde vayas, sea quien sea, digan lo que digan, pase lo que pase. They are the everyday equivalent.

Concession and pretence follow fixed mood patterns:

With the same subject, a riesgo de takes an infinitive: Lo voy a decir, a riesgo de equivocarme.

Negated verbs of saying (decir, contar, avisar) accept both moods, and the mood is the message:

• No te dije que tenía novia. Indicative: it's true, I just didn't tell you.
• Yo no dije que tuviera novia. Subjunctive: I never claimed it and don't vouch for it.
• With pensar and creer in the past, the indicative also marks a fact you now accept: No pensé que eras tú (it really was you).

When to use it

Subjunctive when you can't, or won't, pin down the place, the person or the claim; indicative when you narrate what really happened or stand behind it.

• Dondequiera que iba, la gente le pedía fotos.Everywhere she went, people asked her for photos.real, repeated places: indicative
• No vuelvo a trabajar con él así me ofrezcan el doble.I won't work with him again, even if they offer me double.concessive así, colloquial
• Porque llores no te voy a comprar el juguete.Crying won't get you the toy.concessive porque
• No te conté que me habían ascendido.I didn't tell you I'd been promoted.it's true: indicative
• Nunca dije que el proyecto fuera a fracasar.I never said the project would fail.no commitment: subjunctive

Concessive así is the strongest, most colloquial "even if": very common in Latin America, rarer in Spain, out of place in formal writing (use aunque or ni aunque there). Concessive porque means "just because X doesn't mean Y" and comes before a negative main clause; no por + infinitive says the same: No por gritar más vas a tener razón.

Try it

Five quick exercises from this topic's training set:

Contrasts and traps

• dondequiera que ≠ donde quiera. Siéntate donde quieras is the verb querer: sit where you like. Dondequiera que te sientes, vas a ver bien: no matter where you sit, you'll see well.
• Concessive así ≠ manner así. No lo firmo así = I won't sign it like this. No lo firmo así me paguen = I won't sign it even if they pay me. The subjunctive after así is the signal.
• Concessive ≠ causal porque. No lo hizo porque se lo pediste: he didn't do it, and your asking was the reason. No lo hizo porque se lo pidieras: he did it, but not because you asked.
• Como si never takes the present indicative. Hace como si no sabe is wrong: say hace como que no sabe or hace como si no supiera. And hacer como que never takes the subjunctive.
• The echo indicative. In fast speech you'll hear ¡Yo no dije que eras tonto!, quoting an accusation back word for word. To deny the content itself, the subjunctive is the clear choice: Yo no dije que fueras tonto.

For Portuguese speakers

Much of this is positive transfer: onde quer que você vá → dondequiera que vayas; como se não soubesse → como si no supiera. The traps lie elsewhere:

• The second half of the formula. Portuguese uses the future subjunctive there (seja quem for, digam o que disserem, aconteça o que acontecer); Spanish repeats the present subjunctive: sea quien sea, digan lo que digan, pase lo que pase. Sea quien fuera is a calque.
• Nem que → así / ni aunque. Não assino nem que me paguem o dobro → No lo firmo así me paguen el doble (or ni aunque me paguen…). Spanish ni que + imperfect subjunctive is the "as if!" of exclamations: ¡Ni que fuera millonario!
• Porque. Não é porque você grita que vai ter razão keeps the indicative; Spanish needs the subjunctive: Porque grites más no vas a tener razón.
• O que quer que has no -quiera form: say hagas lo que hagas or cualquier cosa que hagas.
• Negated dizer. Brazilian speech uses the indicative almost everywhere (eu não falei que ela era culpada). In Spanish, the subjunctive is how you deny the claim itself: No dije que fuera culpable.