English Translation
I am afraid that they don’t get along very well.
I’m surprised that “me temo que” isn’t followed by the subjunctive.
It’s indeed surprising. I suppose it’s because most of the time when this expression is used, the speaker isn’t really afraid; it’s just a way to signal that some bad news is on the way.
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Ok, so, I have been giving this a thought since yesterday, unfortunately, I do not have a definitive answer.
Initally, I was going to say that it ha to do with “me temo que” and “temo que”, one using subjunctive and not the other, but I have seen examples that contradict this idea.
So, I feel it has rather to do with the meaning:
- “temo que”+ subj → I fear that. Example: temo que mueran → I fear that they (should) die
- “me temo que” + not subjunctive (can be present, but other tenses as well, depending on what you want to say) → “I’m afraid that” (as in, the polite way to introduce bad news). Example: me temo que han muerto, lo siento → I’m afraid they died, sorry
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Thank you both. I just came across a similar example that uses the subjunctive: “Me temo que no hay nada que podamos hacer.” So I think it must depend on the speaker’s intention to convey something certain or uncertain.
As I was saying the other day, I recall having seen examples of “me temo que” with and without the subjunctive. But, precisely in this one, I’d say that the subjunctive of “podamos” doesn’t come from “me temo que”, but rather the “no hay nada que”
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Please not that it’s hay, not haya.
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Oh, that makes sense. Thank you!