¿Cree usted/crees tú que+ subjunctive or indicative?‘Do you
think... ?’The choice between present subjunctive and present indicative after¿Cree usted/crees
tú que...? depends on the degree of doubt involved. By and large, however, the
present subjunctive is more common than the indicative. 18.1.5 (p. 85)
No sé si llevar el rojo o el azul. ¿Qué crees tú?
I don’t know whether to take the red or the blue one. What do you
think?¿Qué cree usted que podemos hacer?
What do you think we can do?¿Crees tú que él sea/es la persona indicada?
Do you think he’s the right person?55.1.3 Opinar, pensar
Opinar and pensar, ‘to think’, are normally found in the following constructions:¿Qué opina/piensa usted?‘What do you think?’
¿Qué opinas/piensas tú de/sobre... ?‘What do you think of/
about... ?’No sé si decírselo o no. ¿Qué opinas/piensas tú?
I don’t know whether to tell him/her or not. What do you think?¿Qué opina/piensa usted de ella?
What do you think of her?55.1.4 ¿Cuál es su/tu opinión?
This phrase, similar in meaning to the English phrase ‘What’s your opinion?’, is much
less frequent than the equivalent English expression, and it tends to be used in more
formal contexts. When asking for an opinion, most Spanish speakers will use one of the
expressions above, especially the ones with parecer and creer.¿Cuál es su opinión al respecto?
What is your opinion of this?¿Cuál es su opinión sobre este proyecto?
What is your opinion about this project?12.2 (p. 49)
55.1.5 Me/nos gustaría or quisiera/quisiéramos conocer su opinión...
Like the phrase in 55.1.4 above, these expressions with gustar and querer, meaning ‘I/
we would like to know your opinion’, are less common than the ones which actually
carry verbs of thinking like parecer or creer, and they tend to be restricted to more
formal contexts.ASKING AND GIVING OPINIONS 55.1