Subjunctive/indicative

Question

HII used 'cuando suene la alarma' and was corrected to 'cuando suena la alarma'. I notice that an alternative could be 'cuando suene el despertador' so would my original translation, using the subjunctive with 'la alarma', be ok to use?Many thanksDee

Accepted Answer

Hola Sean
If we look carefully at the whole sentence in the exercise, this is what it says:
"Piénsalo 2 veces cuando suene el despertador."Here, you can see that the main clause "Piénsalo 2 veces" using an imperative is indicating that the alarm ringing is referring to a future event, and then when that happens in the future you [need to] think twice.If I said this other sentence, then it'd be different and it would be using the indicative:
Yo pienso las cosas dos veces cuando suena el despertador.I think things twice when (every time) the alarm rings.
I am now talking about an action that happens every day (indicative) and something I always do when this happens: I always think twice when the alarm rings [every morning, for ex.]Saludos Inma

Answer

Hello Dee,

I don't think this is about the gender of "alarma".

It is normal to use the indicative after cuando for future events that usually happen e.g. "I (always) jump out of bed when the alarm goes off .... cuando suena la alarma."

On the other hand, if you are talking about a future even that is still to happen "When the alarm goes off I am going to cook breakfast" we would use the subjunctive, cuando suene la alarma."

If you were marked wrong then they must have intended the meaning of the passage to be the first example above i.e. something that usually / actually happens. I find this differences subtle, but there is a great example in the lesson about this .. here is the link. If it fails to open type "Cuando + El Presente de Subjuntivo" in the search bar and it should open. Saludos. John

Cuando + the present subjunctive vs Cuando + the present indicative in Spanish%252Fsearch%253Fs%253Dcuando

Answer

Hola DeeYour answer is absolutely right if you wrote "Cuando suene la alarma". The reason you got it wrong is because we added as correct "cuando la alarma suene", but you can also put the subject after: "cuando suene la alarma". I just added that option to the exercise.As John says, if we refer to something still to happen, the subjunctive is used after cuando.SaludosInma

Answer

If the alarm sounds every day, then it is a routine event that we know will occur.  In this case, why isn't the indicative correct after cuando?: "cuando suena la alarma".