Track 79

1. ojalá, hopefully Vocabulary

A very common word, and it takes the mood tense for whatever you want to happen.

Ojalá deje un mensaje · Ojalá sea pronto

It certainly has something to do with the Arabic word for God, from those eight centuries when southern Spain was part of the Muslim world. There are several accounts of the exact origin; the teacher's favourite is a contraction of "ojo-Allah", eye-God, said when you want something.

2. Telling somebody to do something, indirectly Grammar

I want to tell him to leave me a message becomes I want to tell him that he leaves me a message, with the mood tense.

Without the mood tense you are reporting a fact, not passing on an instruction.

Quiero que me dejes un mensaje · Déjeme un mensaje

3. dejar, and a recap of the uses Vocabulary

Dejar is to leave in the sense of leaving a message, not leaving a room, which is salir.

Cuando te deje el mensaje, llámame · Es esencial que vea mi mensaje

Note the positive command with the little word on the end: déjeme, llámame.

4. -tial becomes -cial Rule

The same shift as -tion to -ción.

esencial · espacial

5. cuando plus the future, once more Grammar

Cuando te deje el mensaje, llámame

Referring to something that has not happened yet, so the mood tense. The teacher's framing again: we feel a bit superstitious about it.

6. The optional uses are the interesting ones Concept

Closing thought on the mood tense as a whole.

So listen out for it, get interested, and ask why it was used each time. That is how the picture fills in.