encara que + Indicative/Subjunctive

Mood with Encara Que

Level 5

Encara que uses indicative for an asserted concession and subjunctive for an unasserted or hypothetical one.

How It Works

With indicative, the speaker presents the concessive circumstance as a fact: encara que plou, sortim. With subjunctive, the speaker can leave its truth open or treat it as irrelevant to the result: encara que plogui, sortirem.

A known obstacle can still be placed in the subjunctive when the speaker deliberately treats it as irrelevant to the decision. Therefore an editor should not change every encara que subjunctive to indicative after discovering that the obstacle is real. Use indicative to assert the obstacle as part of the account; use subjunctive to bracket it as a possibility or concession whose truth does not determine the result.

Examples (3)

  1. Encara que té poc temps, ens ajuda.

    Although she has little time, she helps us.

  2. Encara que tingui poc temps, ens ajudarà.

    Even if she has little time, she will help us.

  3. Encara que ho hagués sabut, no hauria canviat res.

    Even if he had known it, he would not have changed anything.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

encara que + Indicative/SubjunctiveLevel 5Mood with Encara Que

Learn This First

Distinguish an asserted concession from a prospective or bracketed one.

Words in This Pattern

encara que