WEIRDO

Many of the verbs and phrases that require the subjunctive fit into the acronym WEIRDO: Wishes, Emotions, Impersonal expressions, Recommendations, Doubt/Denial, and Ojalá. In this article, we're going to take a look at impersonal expressions.

Impersonal Expressions

Impersonal expressions work a lot like emotions in that they express someone’s opinion or value judgement. They focus on the subjectivity of the statement and not on the actual truth or reality of the situation.

• Almost any phrase using the formula es + adjective + que can be an impersonal expression as long as it doesn’t state a truth (like es verdad que, certainty (like es cierto que, or fact (like es un hecho que. Phrases beginning with these statements use the indicative.

• Phrases beginning with the negated forms of the above phrases no es verdad que, etc.) use the subjunctive.

Check out these examples.

Useful Impersonal Expressions

The table below shows some useful impersonal expressions you can use with the subjunctive.