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No Puedo Decir Que.....

 

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Old November 06, 2022, 07:40 PM
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No Puedo Decir Que.....

In the past, I have seen the following sentences written that start with "no puedo decir que......" as sentence starters to answer a question. I jotted these sentences down in hopes of later asking grammarians on this forums why the subjunctive was triggered.

No puedo decir que se use mucho por aquí.
No puedo decir que esté equivocado.
No puedo decir que lo haya hecho.


I can't say that it’s used much around here.
I can't say that you are wrong.
I can't say that I have.


Please tell me why the subjunctive was used. What rule does it follow? Can you give me more examples?
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Old November 06, 2022, 08:56 PM
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The main verb "no puedo decir que X" states doubt about whether X happens or happened. Stating doubt is one of the automatic triggers for using the subjunctive mood for the main verb in X. This is true for any other verb that states doubt about something, including "no creo que X" and "dudo que X". Furthermore, I believe that it doesn't matter whether the main verb of X is positive or negative, it still must be in the subjunctive mood, as in:

No puedo decir que (no) se use mucho por aquí.
No creo que (no) se use mucho por aquí.
Dudo que (no) se use mucho por aquí.

No puedo decir que (no) esté equivocado.
No creo que (no) esté equivocado.
Dudo que (no) esté equivocado.

No puedo decir que (no) lo haya hecho.
No creo que (no) lo haya hecho.
Dudo que (no) lo haya hecho.


In contrast, the opposite positive/negative forms of these expressions ("puedo decir que X", "creo que X", and "no dudo que X") all state certainty about whether X happens or happened, and that certainty about X requires using the indicative mood for the main verb in X, as in:

Puedo decir que (no) se usa mucho por aquí.
Creo que (no) se usa mucho por aquí.
No dudo que (no) se usa mucho por aquí.

Puedo decir que (no) está equivocado.
Creo que (no) está equivocado.
No dudo que (no) está equivocado.

Puedo decir que (no) lo ha hecho.
Creo que (no) lo ha hecho.
No dudo que (no) lo ha hecho.

Last edited by wrholt; November 06, 2022 at 09:09 PM.
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Old November 07, 2022, 11:40 AM
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Thank you, wrholt. It never crossed my mind that "no puedo decir que X" involves doubt, so your explanation clears this up for me. Thank you for your detailed response.
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