Expressing the Impersonal

Expressing impersonal desires or judgments in Spanish will always use the subjunctive "mood." But what are these impersonal expressions or statements?

Well, these are statements that must have a specific subject. They will still have two verbs and two subjects. Instead of two specific subjects, only the second verb will have a clear subject. The first subject is general and very generic in nature. It takes the form of "it." The expressions follow this construction:

It is + [an adjective] + that + [second subject] + [the desire or judgement].

Es + [un adjectivo] + que + [subjecto segundo] + [el deseo o la opinión].

Example: It is deplorable that Shannon wears white to the wedding!

Ejemplo: ¡Es deplorable que Shannon lleve blanco a la boda!

In this example, the first subject is "it" which is general or generic. The speaker is stating the general consensus according to their perspective. Keep in mind that this may not be factual, but one side of the story and how that person sees the situation. The adjective "deplorable" conveys the sentiment and judgement. The second subject is Shannon, the person receiving the judgement, along with the reason why she is receiving that judgement (wearing white to the wedding).

To help you gain a better idea of starting impersonal expressions out, I have a small (but not complete) list here:

es aconsejable que . . .	it is advisable that . . .
es bueno que . . .	it is good that . . .
es difícil que . . .	it is difficult (unlikely) that . . .
es dudoso que . . .	it is doubtful that . . .
es fácil que . . .	it is easy (likely) that . . .
es fantástico que . . .	it is fantastic that . . .
es importante que . . .	it is important that . . .
es improbable que . . .	it is improbable that . . .
es incierto que . . .	it is uncertain that . . .
es increíble que . . .	it is incredible that . . .
es malo que . . .	it is bad that . . .
es mejor que . . .	it is better that . . .
es menester que /es necesario que / es preciso que . . .	it is necessary that . . .
es posible que . . .	it is possible that . . .
es preferible que . . .	it is preferable that . . .
es probable que . . .	it is probable (likely) that . . .
es raro que . . .	it is rare that . . .
es ridículo que . . .	it is ridiculous that . . .
es terrible que . . .	it is terrible that . . .

There are some impersonal expressions that do not begin with es (it is) such as:

conviene que . . .	it is advisable that . . .
puede ser que . . .	it could be that . . .

Remember that all of the above impersonal expressions would use the subjunctive after the relative pronoun, que (that), to show judgments, feelings, or desires.

In my previous blog posting, I did mention that emotion verbs can be part of impersonal expressions when you state a general emotion. This is a slight overlap into the wide area of impersonal expressions. You may re-read that here.

Not all impersonal expressions will use the subjunctive. Those that express truth, fact, certainty, and credible belief will use the indicative for the second verb. If it does not fit this criteria, then use the subjunctive. Here's an example:

Es obvio que el cielo es azul.

It is obvious that the sky is blue.

This is considered general knowledge. Everyone knows this to be fact. There are no doubts about it. Scientists have studied and figured out why the sky is blue. Impersonal expressions such as this one will always use the indicative. Some of these expressions that trigger the use of the indicative start out as: es verdad que [it is true that], es obvio que [it is obvious that], es claro que [it is clear that], es evidente que [it is evident that], no es dudoso que [it is not doubtful that], and no hay duda que [there is no doubt that].

Finally, if there is no subject for the second verb, you would leave the second verb in its infinitive form (not conjugated and without any subject). For example: 

Es importante comer y beber bien.

It is important to eat and drink well.

Notice that there are no relative pronouns like que (that) to separate any parts of the sentence. It's all one idea, one sentence, and one thought.

Give it a try! Post some impersonal expressions of your own down below in the comments section.

¡Hasta luego!
~Keith