Present subjunctive regular and irregular forms (dar,
estar, ir, haber, saber, ser)
Overview
The present subjunctive functions much like the present indicative time-wise except it deals with
situations of doubt, desire, emotion, and is generally subjective while the present indicative is true, real,
and objective. In some cases, it can also refer to the future. If you are familiar with all the spellingchanges, stem-changes, and irregular verbs in the yo form of the indicative, then you already know most
of the spelling-changes, stem-changes, and irregular verbs in the subjunctive, too. For specifics on when
to use the subjunctive instead of the indicative, see the article on subjunctive vs. indicative.
Present Subjunctive
To conjugate a verb in the present subjunctive, you must first remember what the indicative
present yo form is. In the present subjunctive, instead of forming a stem from the infinitive, the stem is
formed from the yoform of the present indicative. For many verbs, this will be the same as the infinitive
stem, but for many others (all the spelling-changes, stem-changing, and irregulars), it will be different.
How to Find the Present Subjunctive Stem
present subjunctive stem = yo form of present indicative -o ending
yo present
indicative
quepo
caber
caigo
caer
conocer conozco
hago
hacer
luzco
lucir
parecer parezco
infinitive
present subjunctive
stem
quepcaigconozchagluzcparezc-
yo present
indicative
poner pongo
querer* quiero
tengo
tener
traer* traigo
valgo
valer
veo
ver
infinitive
present
subjunctive
pongquiertengtraigvalgve-
If the stem is irregular in the yo form of the present indicative, the subjunctive will maintain this
“irregularity” throughout all of its conjugations (including all stem-changing -ir verbs).
To the end of this new stem, add the appropriate ending depending on the subject of the verb and
infinitive ending of the verb. There are only two ending sets for the present subjunctive; one for -ar verbs
and one for both -er and -ir verbs.
Regular Present Subjunctive Endings
yo
tú
usted, él, ella
nosotros
vosotros
-AR verbs -ER and -IR verbs
-e
-a
-es
-as
-e
-a
-emos
-amos
-éis
-áis
ustedes, ellos, ellas -en
-an
* Note that -ar endings in the present subjunctive are the same as -er endings in the present indicative
except in the yo form. -Er and -ir endings in the present subjunctive are the same as -ar endings in the
present indicative as well except in the yo form.
Example Conjugations
hablar (habl-) tener (teng-) vivir (viv-)
hable
tenga
viva
yo
hables
tengas
vivas
tú
hable
tenga
viva
usted, él, ella
hablemos
tengamos
vivamos
nosotros
habléis
tengáis
viváis
vosotros
tengan
vivan
ustedes, ellos, ellas hablen
Irregular Present Subjunctive Verbs
There are only 6 truly irregular verbs in the subjunctive. All other "irregulars" are only irregular in the stem
or in spelling (see below.)
dar estar haber ir
saber ser
dé
esté
haya
vaya
sepa
sea
yo
des
estés
hayas
vayas
sepas
seas
tú
dé
esté
haya
vaya
sepa
sea
usted, él, ella
demos estemos hayamos vayamos sepamos seamos
nosotros
deis estéis hayáis vayáis sepáis seáis
vosotros
ustedes, ellos, ellas den estén hayan vayan sepan sean
Tildes Mean A Lot!
The tilde on dé is used to distinguish it from the preposition de, unless a pronoun is attached to the end
as with deme (give me), where it is omitted.
Stem Changes in the Present Subjunctive
1. E to IE and O to UE stem changing -AR and -ER verbs
All e-ie and o-ue stem-changing -AR and -ER verbs in the present indicative follow the same rules in the
present subjunctive: all forms follow the stem change except for nosotros and vosotros (these use the
infinitive stem).
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
volar - vuele, vueles, vuele, volemos, voléis, vuelen
querer - quiera, quieras, quiera, queramos, queráis, quieran
2. E to IE and O to UE stem changing -IR verbs
All e-ie and o-ue stem-changing -IR verbs in the present indicative follow the same rules in the present
subjunctive except the nosotros and vosotros forms where the e changes to i and the o changes to u.


preferir - prefiera, prefieras, prefiera, prefiramos, prefiráis, prefieran
dormir - duerma, duermas, duerma, dormimos, durmáis, duerman
3. E to I stem changing -IR verbs
All e-i stem-changing -IR verbs in the present indicative maintain the stem-change in all forms.


pedir - pida, pidas, pida, pidamos, pidáis, pidan
servir - sirva, sirvas, sirva, sirvamos, sirváis, sirvan
Spelling-changes
All spelling changes in the preterit indicative are maintained in the present subjunctive. This is to maintain
pronunciation of the infinitive.
All verbs ending in -ger and -gir change the g to a j in all forms.


escoger - escoja, escojas, escoja, escojamos, escojáis, escojan
exigir - exija, exijas, exija, exijamos, exijáis, exijan
All verbs ending in -car, -gar, and -zar change to qu, gu, and c respectively.



explicar - explique, expliques, explique, expliquemos, expliquéis, expliquen
llegar - llegue, llegues, llegue, lleguemos, lleguéis, lleguen
empezar - empiece, empieces, empiece, empecemos, empecéis, empiecen