How can I recognise the subjunctive?

It can be tricky to know how to recognise the subjunctive tense, particularly since it is rarely used in English! Rather than referring to the subjunctive as a "tense" it is better to understand it as a "mood", as it reflects how we feel about something, rather than when it happened. The best way to recognise the subjunctive is through a) the preposition "que", and b) if there is uncertainty, subjectivity, hope, or feeling in the phrase. For example "no dudo que vas al coche" would not take the subjunctive, as it is certain, whereas "dudo que vayas al coche" would, as it introduces an element of uncertainty to the phrase. In the same way, the subjunctive would also come after "es importante que", because it is a feeling, as well as "ojala que" because it involves hope. Remember that que ALWAYS comes before the subjunctive!