prever + indicative / subjunctive

Question

If one were to say, "I had foreseen that he would come", which of these is more appropriate: "Yo había previsto que " + "iba a venir" / "vendría" / "viniera"? Can the subjunctive be used with prever like this?

Gracias.

Silvia Píriz · Accepted Answer

Hola Marius H.
Yes, the subjunctive can sometimes appear with prever, but not in the sentence you are asking about.
In your example, prever expresses a prediction or expectation that the speaker considered likely or real, so the indicative is the natural choice:
Yo había previsto que iba a venir.
Yo había previsto que vendría.
Both are correct, however, iba a venir sounds a bit more conversational and direct, while vendría sounds slightly more formal or literary.
On the other hand, using the subjunctive here would sound unusual in standard Spanish because prever que normally presents the following action as something expected to happen, not as hypothetical, doubtful or desired.
The subjunctive is more common if the sentence is negative or expresses uncertainty, for example:
No había previsto que viniera tanta gente.
Here the speaker is reacting to something unforeseen rather than confidently predicting it.
So, for “I had foreseen that he would come”, the best options are:
Yo había previsto que iba a venir.
Yo había previsto que vendría.
Saludos
Silvia