I'm currently on a quest to master the subjunctive and reading 'The Spanish Subjunctive: The Only Guide You will EVER need' (https://www.amazon.com/Spanish-Subjunctive-Only-Guide-will-ebook/dp/B00F90XNE6).
There, one of the very first and most important rules reads:
If the verb in the main clause is in the present, the verb in the subordinate clause must also be in the present. If the verb in the main clause is in the past, the verb in the subordinate clause must also be in the past.'
(Except that it has examples which use pretérito perfecto
in the subordinate clause after a present tense in the main clause, but I guess they classify it as present because it is kind of called Present Perfect
in English. E.g.: Espero que hayas hecho todo.)
How about the following:
I find it bad that you are so rude to me.
In Spanish it would be:
Me parece mal que estés tan brusco conmigo.
All good, present main clause, present subordinate clause. But what if I wanted to 'move' the subordinate clause in to the past:
I find it bad that you were so rude to me yesterday.
What would be the correct translation? My take:
Me parece mal que estuvieras tan brusco conmigo ayer.
or this example:
I'm happy you called me.
could be:
Me alegro de que me llamaras.
Are these translations correct? If so, are there any other examples of where the general rule mentioned above doesn't apply?