ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts covered in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book deals with the subjunctive as a grammatical category and its communicative potential. Due to the lack of singular principle, Spanish teachers often resort to providing lists of expressions followed by the subjunctive, combined with semantic and pragmatic generalizations, in an attempt to guide their students. The book explores the subjunctive, as a formal and systematic manifestation of modality, particularly verb endings, is characterized as a set of morphemes with a general grammatical meaning. It attempts to resolve the real problems that people have in understanding, describing and effectively teaching the Spanish subjunctive to English speakers by using different approaches. The book outlines strategies and practical step-by-step instructions for the teaching of the subjunctive. It shows the unsubstantiated claim that the subjunctive, especially in America, is disappearing by looking at empiric data and research about mood variation throughout the Spanish speaking world.
