Hmmmmm not exactly. It's true that the subjunctive is used when talking about emotions, wishes etc., but it has maaaany more uses. For example, the "usted" form in the imperative mode is conjugated just like the subjunctive. So if you said "vaya a España" you're very politely asking someone to go to Spain. If you want to indicate uncertainty, you can place "quizá(s)" at the beginning of the sentence. Quizás vaya a España (I might go to Spain). If you have any question, let me know. Cheers.

brother, not even all spanish speakers get the spanish subjunctive right... my girlfriend has this endearing affectation of using the conditional where normally you'd use the subjunctive, she'll say stuff like "si estaríamos allá" instead of "si estuvieramos allá". "vaya a españa" is more like an imperative form... think of the subjunctive as something that happens in conditional constructions. you can just say "fuera a españa*", that's kinda meaningless and weird, but you can say "si yo fuera a españa". meaning if i were to go to spain. so like, "si yo fuera a españa me comería cuatro paellas" or something along those lines. <if i were to go to spain i'd eat four paellas>. whenever you could add in a 'were' or 'were to' or such construction in eng, you might want to use a subjunctive. proper subjunctive usage is, i think, easier to get through intuition and a lot of learning than through study of the formal rules of grammar, though, so read read read listen listen listen is my recommendation.

Subjunctive is best learnt with practice. 90% of its use is in relative clauses. 10% is found in: 1. imperative for usted: 'Venga a España' -> Come to Spain 2. impersonal wish and idioms: 'Ojalá vengas a verme', 'Que te parta un rayo', 'Tal vez/Puede que apruebe el examen', 'Basta que pongas atención' In relative clauses it depends on the type of relative clause, main verb and affirmative/negative sense. I made once a schema of all cases and use it to teach. We, spaniards, use it by instinct, it asks you to use it so it sounds good. Good luck!

"I find the subjunctive in Spanish quite difficult (and odd!)." You're not alone. I find the best way to tackle something like this is to learn the rules regarding the use of subjunctive, learn the conjugations (which are pretty simple) and then practice. Over time I assume what is confusing now will become effortless. The Imperfect Indicative tense presents similar issues.

Thanks guys. It's all becoming a little clearer to me now (just a little!) :)