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Example:

We first have to add enough oil, then put the corn seeds along with salt and put the cooking pan on the stove; wait a bit and those solid seeds will turn into a wonderful and funny popcorn.

Like which of the following suggested translations should the Spanish sentence be?

Primero, debemos agregar una cantidad suficiente de aceite, y luego poner el maíz y sal, y se pone la olla sobre la cocina; espera un poco y esas sólidas semillas se convertirán/convirtieren/convertiría en palomitas maravillosas y divertidas.

-The mentioned suggestions are: futuro indicativo, futuro subjuntivo and indicativo condicional, respectively.

Please note that I do NOT want to use a keyword in this case, eg "when".

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  • Just noting that espera here is an imperativo, as in "wait a bit", not an indicativo; so does this still apply?
    – Enthusiastor
    Commented Sep 19, 2019 at 15:01
  • Yes, @Rotten is right. Future indicative will apply even if the imperative is used.
    – Gustavson
    Commented Sep 19, 2019 at 15:08
  • Never mind my previous comment, when I wrote the English example I was thinking in the "present tense", and when I wrote the translation I was thinking in the "imperative". I'm glad it doesn't make a difference.
    – Enthusiastor
    Commented Sep 19, 2019 at 15:13
  • Note the huge difference (grammatically) between espera y se convertirán (two independent clauses) and espera a que see conviertan (independent with subordinate). You can't use subjunctive in an independent clause
    – user0721090601
    Commented Sep 20, 2019 at 5:43
  • Just a tip: in multiple-choice questions like these, you can forget about the future subjunctive, unless it's an extremely formal (e.g. legal) text.
    – pablodf76
    Commented Oct 20, 2019 at 13:05

1 Answer 1

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No, the subjunctive wouldn't be used for the final event. Here's a typical pattern sentence that uses the subjunctive:

Cuando hagas palomitas todos estarán contentos.

The subjunctive is used in the clause that sets up the cause in the cause-and-effect.

But note that the sentence could be rewritten in a way that doesn't use subjunctive, for example

Si haces palomitas, todos estarán contentos.

My point is simply that the result clause wouldn't be in the subjunctive.

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