cal que + Subjunctive

Subjunctive After Impersonal Need

Level 2

Cal que introduces a necessary action with a subjunctive clause.

How It Works

Cal que vinguis means it is necessary for you to come. The form after que belongs to the person who must act, while impersonal cal does not become a second-person verb. Cal que esperem similarly refers to a necessary action by nosaltres.

Use cal + infinitive for a general need or an action without an independently expressed subject: cal esperar. Use cal que + subjunctive when the clause specifies who acts: cal que la Marta esperi. The two structures do not take the same verb form.

Negating the expression normally removes the necessity: no cal que vinguis means you do not need to come, not a direct order forbidding you to come. For a direct prohibition, use a negative imperative. Learn common subjunctives such as sigui, tingui and vingui as part of this construction.

Examples (3)

  1. Cal que arribis aviat.

    You need to arrive early.

  2. Cal que esperem aquí.

    We need to wait here.

  3. No cal que portis res.

    You do not need to bring anything.

How It Connects

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cal que + SubjunctiveLevel 2Subjunctive After Impersonal Need

Learn This First

Identify the subject within the clause after que.

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Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

caldre