Indicative or subjunctive in the DELE B2? The doubt almost always comes up in six situations: a positive or negative opinion, a positive or negative statement of truth or evidence, verbs of influence, verbs of feeling, same subject or different subject, and relative clauses with a known or unknown antecedent. Here’s each one with its rule, wrong and right examples and a tip so you don’t hesitate in the exam.

This article goes into the detail of mood. If you’re looking for the big picture of B2 grammar (conditional, past tenses and where each thing is assessed in the exam), you’ll find it in DELE B2 grammar: subjunctive, conditional and past tenses.

Quick summary: which mood goes where?

  • Positive opinion: indicative. “Creo que viene mañana.”
  • Negative opinion: subjunctive. “No creo que venga mañana.”
  • Positive statement of truth or evidence: indicative. “Es verdad que trabaja mucho.”
  • Negative statement of truth or evidence: subjunctive. “No es verdad que trabaje tanto.”
  • Verbs of influence: subjunctive. “Te pido que vengas.”
  • Verbs of feeling: subjunctive. “Me alegro de que estés aquí.”
  • Same subject: infinitive. “Quiero ir.”
  • Different subject: que + subjunctive. “Quiero que vayas.”
  • Known antecedent: indicative. “Busco al chico que habla ruso.”
  • Unknown antecedent: subjunctive. “Busco un chico que hable ruso.”

Why does the subjunctive get tricky at B2?

At B2 it’s no longer enough to know the forms: you have to choose the mood according to what you mean. And the subjunctive turns up in longer stretches of speech and writing, when you give opinions, assess, counter-argue or deny what someone else has said. In those contexts a single word (a “no”, a “que”, a “cuando”) changes the mood.

My advice: don’t study “the subjunctive” in the abstract. Study these six traps, which are the ones you’ll need most in the writing and speaking tests.

Trap 1: “creo que” or “no creo que”?

This is the most common one at B2 and it comes up in every part of the exam where you give your opinion.

Rule: opinion verbs (creer, pensar, opinar, considerar, suponer, parecer) take the indicative when they’re positive and the subjunctive when they’re negative.

Wrong: “No creo que viene mañana.”
Right: “No creo que venga mañana.”

Wrong: “Creo que vengas pronto.”
Right: “Creo que vienes pronto.”

Tip: as soon as you say “no creo”, “no pienso” or “no me parece”, switch mood.

What about questions? The indicative is the usual choice (“¿Crees que vendrá?”), although the subjunctive is also possible if you want to stress the doubt (“¿Crees que venga?”). If you want to give opinions without always saying “creo que”, here are eight expressions for giving your opinion.

Trap 2: “es verdad que” or “no es verdad que”?

Same logic with expressions that present something as true or obvious: es verdad que, es cierto que, está claro que, es evidente que, es obvio que.

Rule: positive, indicative; negative, subjunctive.

Wrong: “No es verdad que trabaja tanto.”
Right: “No es verdad que trabaje tanto.”

Wrong: “Está claro que estudie mucho.”
Right: “Está claro que estudia mucho.”

Why? When you deny it, you stop presenting the information as a proven fact and treat it as something you don’t accept as true. Spanish marks that with the subjunctive. In speaking Task 3, when you comment on survey results, this structure is really useful: “No es cierto que los jóvenes lean menos que antes, según estos datos”.

Trap 3: verbs of influence (pedir, recomendar, aconsejar)

Verbs you use to get someone else to do something (pedir, mandar, ordenar, prohibir, recomendar, aconsejar, sugerir, exigir) take the subjunctive when the subject changes.

Wrong: “Te pido que vienes pronto.”
Right: “Te pido que vengas pronto.”

Wrong: “Te recomiendo que estudias gramática.”
Right: “Te recomiendo que estudies gramática.”

Careful with “decir”: if you’re passing on information, indicative (“Me dijo que venía a las cinco”); if you’re passing on an order or advice, subjunctive (“Me dijo que viniera a las cinco”).

This trap comes up a lot in speaking Task 1, when you assess proposals: “Yo recomendaría que el ayuntamiento ampliara el horario”.

Trap 4: verbs of feeling (alegrarse, sorprender, molestar)

Verbs and expressions of feeling or reaction (alegrarse de que, dar pena que, sorprender que, gustar que, molestar que, parecer increíble que) take the subjunctive when the subject changes.

Wrong: “Me alegro de que estás aquí.”
Right: “Me alegro de que estés aquí.”

Wrong: “Me sorprende que viene tan pronto.”
Right: “Me sorprende que venga tan pronto.”

Why? Because you’re not reporting the fact, you’re reacting to it. Tip: if the main clause expresses an emotion (me alegra, me molesta, me da pena, qué bien que), the verb after “que” goes in the subjunctive.

Trap 5: infinitive or “que” + subjunctive?

Rule: if both verbs have the same subject, use the infinitive. If the subject changes, use “que” + subjunctive.

Wrong: “Quiero que vaya yo.”
Right: “Quiero ir.”

Wrong: “Quiero ir tú.”
Right: “Quiero que vayas tú.”

Wrong: “Me alegro de que esté yo aquí.”
Right: “Me alegro de estar aquí.”

This works for querer, esperar, preferir, alegrarse, lamentar, necesitar and many more. If you do both actions, infinitive. If you do one and someone else does the other, “que” + subjunctive.

Trap 6: relative clauses with a known or unknown antecedent

In a relative clause, the mood depends on whether you know exactly which person or thing you’re talking about.

Known antecedent, which exists and you know which one it is: indicative.
“Busco al chico que habla ruso.” (I know who he is and I’m looking for him.)

Unknown antecedent, or one that may not exist: subjunctive.
“Busco un chico que hable ruso.” (I don’t know who; I’m looking for someone who fits that profile.)

Wrong: “Busco un piso que tiene terraza.” (if you haven’t found it yet)
Right: “Busco un piso que tenga terraza.”

Wrong: “Conozco a una persona que hable cinco idiomas.” (if you know her, she exists)
Right: “Conozco a una persona que habla cinco idiomas.”

Tip: if you could point to it, indicative. If you’re describing an ideal or hypothetical profile, subjunctive.

How does the subjunctive count in the speaking mark?

Nobody expects you to use the subjunctive in every sentence. In the B2 speaking test, accuracy is one of the four categories on the analytic scale, along with coherence, fluency and range. For band 2 the scale asks for “relatively high grammatical control”: you can make mistakes that don’t get in the way of understanding and sometimes correct them yourself.

That has two practical consequences:

  • When the context calls for the subjunctive, use it. One isolated “no creo que viene” won’t sink you, but if you repeat it throughout the test it’s no longer a slip.
  • If you notice a mistake, correct yourself naturally (“no creo que viene… que venga”). I insist on this in my course because self-correction is valued positively.

The exercise I recommend most: record yourself talking for a minute about typical B2 topics (environment, social media, education, work), listen back and mark where you used or missed the subjunctive.

Which mood mistakes do I see most in my students?

  • Indicative after “no creo que”, “no pienso que”, “no me parece que”.
  • Subjunctive after a positive “creo que”, from trying too hard.
  • Indicative in relative clauses with an unknown antecedent: “Busco un piso que tiene tres habitaciones” when you haven’t found it yet.
  • Infinitive when the subject changes: “Quiero ir tú”.
  • Indicative with verbs of feeling: “Me alegro de que estás”.

Frequently asked questions about indicative and subjunctive in the DELE B2

Does “creo que” always take the indicative?

In the positive, yes: “Creo que viene”, “Creo que es importante”. With “no creo que” it switches to the subjunctive: “No creo que venga”.

What about “¿No crees que…?” in a question?

If you’re asking so the other person will confirm what you think (“¿No crees que es demasiado caro?”), the indicative is the usual choice, because deep down you’re making a statement.

When do I use the infinitive after “querer”?

When both verbs have the same subject: “Quiero ir” (I want, I go). If it changes, “que” + subjunctive: “Quiero que vayas tú”.

What subjunctive is expected at B2?

The present, perfect and imperfect subjunctive, with these six structures and with time, purpose and condition connectors. The imperfect comes up mainly in hypotheses (“si tuviera…”) and when reporting what someone asked for (“me dijo que viniera”).

Is B1 subjunctive enough for B2?

It’s the foundation, but it’s not enough. At B1 you need structures like querer que, esperar que or cuando + subjunctive for the future. At B2 you add negative opinions, value judgements, relative clauses, reported speech and hypotheses. If you want to go over the basics, here are the B1 subjunctive uses (in Spanish) and seven common subjunctive mistakes.

In short

  • “Creo que” + indicative; “no creo que” + subjunctive.
  • “Es verdad, cierto or evidente que” works the same way: positive with indicative, negative with subjunctive.
  • Verbs of influence and feeling: subjunctive when the subject changes.
  • Same subject, infinitive; different subject, “que” + subjunctive.
  • Known antecedent, indicative; unknown, subjunctive.
  • For the big picture of B2 grammar, read the DELE B2 grammar article.

If you want to prepare for the DELE B2 with a method, my course gives you strategies for each part of the exam, commented examples, a community, a chat for your questions and group calls: https://b2.aporeldele.com/. If you’re not sure the B2 is your level, take the level test: https://www.aporeldele.com/en/prueba-de-nivel. And for free resources and tips before each exam session, join the newsletter: https://recursos.aporeldele.com/boletin.

¡A por el DELE! 🇪🇸