Destinos: 27-52 The Main Grammar Points, and Exercises with ...

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command, the verb in the dependent clause must be in the subjunctive mood. (Emotion, doubt,
denial, preference, wish and indirect command are subjunctive triggers.)
Some examples:
Emotion:
Me gusta que ella vaya.
No me gusta que ella vaya.
Indirect command: Mandan que vaya. (They tell her to go.)
Le dicen (a Juana) que vaya (Juana).
Wish or preference: Quiero que vaya.
Preferimos que vaya.
Doubt or negation: No creo que vaya.
No es verdad que vaya.
Dudamos que vaya. (We doubt that she is going.)
[But:
Creo que va.
No dudamos que va.
Es verdad que va.
These last three noun clauses have verbs in the indicative because
they express information only, or they express a certainty that is affirmative; they do not express
doubt, negation, emotion, preference, indirect command or denial: in other words, they are not
“subjunctive triggers.”]
Finally, consider sentences like “Prefieren ir” (=“They prefer to go”), or “Quiero ir” (“I want to
go”): here there is no change of subject, so even though subjunctive triggers like preference and
desire (preferir, querer) are present, the verb form used is the infinitive (neither present
subjunctive--vaya(n)--nor present indicative--van / voy, but rather ir).
A Helpful Hint for working with Noun Clauses.
Dependent noun clauses always function as the direct object of the sentence in which they appear.
Because of this, the independent clause always comes first in the sentence, and the dependent
noun clause always comes second (in Spanish it would be just as impossible to say “Que ella vaya,
quiero,” as it would be to say in English “That she go, I want”).
Therefore, the first verb in sentences with noun clauses will almost always be in the indicative
mood:
1. Quiero que vaya.
2. Creo que va.
3. No creo que vaya.
4. Esperamos que vaya.
5. Pensamos que va.
The second verb, the one in the dependent clause, may be in either the subjunctive (sentences 1,3
and 4 above) or the indicative (sentences 2 and 5).