new Subjuntivo de "debería tener"

Ziqing Z.A1Kwiziq community member

new Subjuntivo de "debería tener"

Hola.

I don't quite understand why el condicional (como en "debería") no tiene forma de subjuntivo en español.

Isn't it right to say “No pienso que el alcalde debiera/debiese tener un salario más bajo.”?

Asked 1 day ago
SilviaKwiziq Native Spanish TeacherCorrect answer

Hola Ziqing Z.

In Spanish, the conditional tense (like debería) does not have its own subjunctive form. When a verb is required in the subjunctive, Spanish uses the imperfect subjunctive instead (debiera / debiese), not a “conditional subjunctive”.

So your example is actually correct:

No pienso que el alcalde debiera / debiese tener un salario más bajo.

Here’s why:

  • No pienso que… expresses a negative opinion, which triggers the subjunctive.

  • Debiera / debiese is the subjunctive form of deber, used instead of debería in this context.

In short:

  • Debería → conditional (used in statements, opinions stated directly)

  • Debiera / debiese → subjunctive (used after expressions that require the subjunctive)

So yes, your sentence is well-formed and matches how Spanish handles this structure.

¡Muy buena observación!

Saludos

Silvia

Luke t.B2Kwiziq community member

hey Silvia, can we say "no pienso que el alcade deba tener un salario mas bajo"?

Ziqing Z. asked:

new Subjuntivo de "debería tener"

Hola.

I don't quite understand why el condicional (como en "debería") no tiene forma de subjuntivo en español.

Isn't it right to say “No pienso que el alcalde debiera/debiese tener un salario más bajo.”?

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