The Present Subjunctive
Subjunctive endings are really opposite endings. What do we mean by that? Look at the
subjunctive endings for -ar, and -er and -ir verbs:
Subjunctive Endings for -AR Verbs, with example
hablar
hable hablemos
-e -emos
hables habléis
-es -íes
hable hablen
-e -en
Subjunctive Endings for -ER and -IR Verbs, with examples
-a -amos
-as -ais
-a -an
comer
coma comamos
comas comáis
coma coman
vivir
viva vivamos
vivas viváis
viva vivan
Notice that the first and third person formations are the same.
Formation of the Present Subjunctive
You learned that in order to form the Present Tense of the verbs that you had to take off the
-AR, -ER, or -IR and put on the endings, right?
Well, with the subjunctive what we have to do is start from the first person singular
present and then take off the '-o' and finally add the subjunctive endings. The reason for this
is that the verbs with irregular first persons (like hago, digo, conduzco, etc. keep the 'g' or 'zc' in
the subjunctive. If that were not so, you could simply substitute that subjunctive endings for the
regular endings.
So, above you already have examples of verbs which follow the regular pattern. Let's look
at one verb which has a 'g' in the first person present, and another which has 'zc':
decir First person singular: digo (Other –go verbs:
caer, hacer, oír, poner, salir, tener, traer, venir)
diga digamos
digas digáis
diga digan
conocer 1st person singular: conozco (Other –zco
verbs: traducir, conducir, nacer, parecer,
conozca conozcamos
conozcas conozcáis
conozca conozcan
Some additional verbs which are irregular in the yo form present.
Caber- quepo
Construir, destruir, huir- Construyo, destruyo, huyo
Ver- veo
Stem changing verbs
For -ar and -er stem-changing verbs, the formula applies except that there is no stem
change in the nosotros and vosotros forms. Study these examples:
pensar (yo pienso)
piense
pensemos
pienses
penséis
piense
piensen
volver (yo vuelvo)
vuelva
volvamos
vuelvas
volváis
vuelva
vuelvan
For -ir stem-changing verbs, the formula applies except that the stem change in the
nosotros and vosotros forms follows these patterns: o:ue verbs change o to u; e:ie verbs
change e to i; e:i verbs change e to i. Study these examples:
dormir (yo duermo)
sentir (yo siento)
pedir (yo pido)
duerma
duermas
duerma
sienta
sientas
sienta
pida pidamos
pidas pidáis
pida pidan
durmamos
durmáis
duerman
sintamos
sintáis
sientan
Irregulars
There are a few irregular verbs in the present subjunctive. That means that you don't start
from the first person singular of the present tense to get the proper form. You need to learn
them. They are:
IR
vaya vayamos
vayas vayáis
vaya vayan
DAR
dé
des
dé
demos
deis
den
SER
sea seamos
seas seáis
sea sean
HABER
haya hayamos
hayas hayáis
haya hayan
SABER
sepa
sepas
sepa
sepamos
sepáis
sepan
ESTAR
esté
estemos
estés estéis
esté
estén
Spelling issues:
Vowel rule: e, i are soft vowels, a, o and u are hard. You want to keep the pronunciation that was
used in the infinitive, so when going to the opposite ending, spelling must be kept in mind.
-car- qu
-gar- gu
-zar- c
-gir (elegir)
-ger (escoger)
-cer (vencer)
The Subjunctive--Usage
Most of the textbooks and grammar books that we have seen try to
categorize the subjunctive into subjective states: they cite emotion, prohibition,
permission, causality, etc. There are plenty of books with this type of explanation
around already, so we won´t bore you by repeating it. Besides, after years of
teaching, we are convinced that that type of explanation is pretty much useless.
Using that sort of guideline, you'll be able to find hundreds of exceptions to the
'rules'.
We believe that the subjunctive is something that is learned mechanically.
You learn a number of expressions or verbs which always take the subjunctive, learn
and practice them, and eventually you will remember to use the subjunctive form
after them. Therefore, in this spirit, we are going to offer you a fairly complete list of
the expressions and verbs which take the subjunctive.
What you will have to learn is when to use the present, perfect or past
subjunctive behind them. We'll give you an example of this with the verb esperar
que. This example will be applicable to almost all of the verbs and expressions on
the list.
For example, in a present tense time situation, you hope someone is going to
arrive soon. So you say:
Espero que llegue pronto. (Present subjunctive).
If you hope he/she has already arrived, you would say:
Espero que haya llegado. (Perfect subjunctive).
Speaking about the past (what happened yesterday, for example), it would be:
Esperaba que llegara. (Past subjunctive).
These examples are certainly not sufficient to enable you to master the use of the
subjunctive, but they do show the heart of the matter. If you can master the tenseusage concept, and remember which expressions use the subjunctive, you will get it
eventually.
Expressions
no puede ser que - "it can't be"
cuando (referring to the future) "when"
qué raro que - "how strange that"
es posible que - "it's possible that"
qué pena que - "what a shame that"
qué lástima que - "what a shame
that"
qué bien que - "how good that"
no es cierto que - "it's not true that"
no es verdad que - "it's not true
that"
no es evidente que - "it's not evident
that"
no está claro que - "it's not clear
that"
no es que - "it's not that"
ojalá (que) - "I hope / wish"
lo mejor es que - "the best thing is
to"
es necesario que - "it's necessary to"
es probable que - "it's probable that"
para que - "in order to"
hasta que (referring to the future)
- "until"
excepto que - "unless"
con tal de que - "provided that"
en caso de que - "in the event that"
en cuanto - "as soon as"
mientras (referring to the future) "while"
aunque (referring to the future) "although"
como (threat) - "if"
siempre que - "provided that"
siempre y cuando - "provided that"
es normal/lógico/necesario (etc.)
que "it's normal/logical/necessary that"
Verbs
extrañar(le)que - "to seem strange"
importar(le) que - "to matter"
molestar(le) que - "to bother"
decir(le) que (imperative) - "to tell
someone (to do something)"
pedir(le) que (imperative) - "to ask
someone (to do something)"
querer que (imperativo) - "to want
that"
esperar que - "to hope that"
dejar que - "to allow (someone to do
something)"
no estar de acuerdo con - "to not
agree with"
estar en contra de que - "to be
against"
parecer(le) bien/mal que - "to
seem right/wrong that"
alegrarse de que - "to be happy
that"
dar(le) miedo de que - "to be afraid
that"
tener miedo de que - "to be afraid
that"
hace falta que - "to be necessary
that"
vale/merece la pena que - "to be
worthwhile to"
recomendar(le) que - "to
recommend that"
aconsejar(le) que - "to advise that"
perdonar que - "to ask forgiveness
for"
no creer que - "to not believe that"
gustar que - "to like that"
gustaría que - "would like that"
We have included (le) with many of the verbs, because they are almost always used
with a direct object (a person).. For example, recomendar(le) que will be used in a
sentence such as: Te recomiendo que no bebas tanto.
Cuando and aunque when referring to the future work in the following way:
Cuando lleguemos, lo pasaremos bien. (We haven't arrived yet).
Aunque lleguemos tarde, no pasará nada. (We haven't arrived yet).
Special usages
There are a few usages which don't fit conveniently into the list above. For example,
when you are specifying a 'quality' of something you don't yet have, you use the
subjunctive. Example:
Quiero una casa que tenga una cocina grande.
One other very important usage of the subjunctive is in the conditional sentences.
Conditional sentences frequently have an 'if' and 'would' in them. Spanish always
uses the past subjunctive in the second conditional, and past perfect subjunctive
('hubiera') in the third conditional. Examples:
Second conditional
If we had money, we would buy a car.
Si tuviéramos dinero, compraríamos un coche.
If I were taller, I would play basketball.
Si fuera más alto, jugaría al baloncesto.
Third conditional
If you had gone, you would have seen it.
Si hubieras ido, lo habrías visto.
If she had saved her money, she wouldn't have to work now.
Si hubiera ahorrado su dinero, no tendría que trabajar ahora.
Another General view of the subjunctive
Sentido general del subjuntivo
All the verbs we have used so far,
with the exception of the
imperative, have been in the
Indicative Mood, that is, they
indicate states of affairs that are
presented as factual. Now consider
the following two sentences in
English:
I insist that he is here, and
I insist that he be here.
In the first case the speaker insists
that the statement is true and the
verb in the subordinate clause is
expressed in the indicative (“he
is”). In the second sentence, the
speaker wants to bring about the
situation in question; it is not
factual but rather an indirect
command and English uses a verb
in the subjunctive to express this
(“he be”). Other examples of
subjunctive used in similar
situations by careful speakers of
English are:
I demand that he do it.
I wish he were here.
He asked that John speak to
him.
Spanish has a far more lively and
systematic subjunctive mood than
English does. With very few
exceptions the subjunctive is only
used in subordinate clauses. In the
following chapters we shall describe
its uses according to the type of
clause involved.
Todos los verbos que hemos usado
hasta ahora, a excepción del
imperativo, han estado en modo
indicativo, esto es, indican
situaciones percibidas como un
hecho. Considere ahora las
siguientes oraciones:
Insisto en que está aquí,
e
Insisto en que esté aquí.
En el primer caso, se insiste en que
la declaración es cierta, y el verbo
de la cláusula se expresa en
indicativo (“está”). En la segunda
oración, se desea hacer realidad la
situación aludida. No es un hecho,
sino una orden indirecta, y se usa el
verbo en subjuntivo para expresar
esto (“ esté”). He aquí otros
ejemplos del uso del subjuntivo en
situaciones similares:
Exijo que lo haga.
Ojalá estuviera aquí.
Pidió que Juan hablara con él.
El español tiene un modo subjuntivo
mucho más vital y sistemático que
el inglés. Con poquísimas
excepciones, el subjuntivo se usa
únicamente en cláusulas
subordinadas.
En los próximos capítulos describiremos sus usos según el tipo de
cláusula empleada.
2. The present subjunctive in noun
clauses
El presente del subjuntivo en cláusulas sustantivas
A noun clause is a group of words (containing a verb) which is the
subject or object of the verb of the main clause. In the sentence "I
insist that he be here", the words "that he be here" are the noun
clause, object of the verb "insist".
A. Indirect Commands
After verbs expressing want, desire, wish, request, insistence,
command, suggestion and similar verbs, what is in the clause is like a
command. The verb in all such clauses must be in the subjunctive.
Sugiero que lo hagas ahora.
I suggest that you do it now.
Insisto en que esté presente.
I insist that he be present.
English frequently uses a phrase with the infinitive to express indirect
commands: "I want him to do it" etc. Spanish must say instead
Quiero que lo haga ("I want that he do it").
Me pide que lo diga.
She asks me to say it.
Queremos que vaya.
We want him to go.
Notes:
1. If there is no change in subject there is no need for a subjunctive
clause: Quiero ir, ella insiste en hablar, etc.
2. If the verb in the main clause simply reports the situation
described in the subordinate clause, there is no need for a subjunctive.
Les digo que está lloviendo.
I tell them that it is raining.
Insisten en que no lo van a visitar.
They insist that they are not going to visit him.
3. A few verbs expressing ordering or permitting sometimes use an
infinitive:
Me manda llegar a tiempo.
No nos permiten ir/No nos
dejan ir.
She orders me to arrive on time. They don't allows to go / won’t
let us go.
B. Clauses dependent on expressions of emotional
attitude, doubt or denial
The verb in a clause dependent on any expression of attitude (sorrow,
surprise, anger, indifference, concern, hope, etc.) or of doubt, disbelief
or denial must be in the subjunctive.
1. Attitude:
Me sorprende que Ud. no lo sepa.
It surprises me that you do not know it.
Es triste que no haga sol.
It's sad that the sun isn't shining.
Siento que no te conozcan.
I am sorry (that) they don't know you.
2. Doubt:
No es posible que no tengan tiempo.
It is not possible that they do not have time.
Dudo/no creo que sea verdad.
I doubt/don't believe that it is true.
3. Denial:
stupid.
No digo que sea tonto. I am not saying (that) he is
Es falso que me moleste el ruido.
noise disturbs me.
It is false that
Notes:
1. Spanish frequently uses the present subjunctive with a future
meaning. There is no longer a future subjunctive in daily use:
Dudamos que diga que no.
I doubt he´ll say no.
Me alegra que haya clase mañana.
tomorrow.
I´m glad there will be class
2. In general, creer, no dudar, and other expressions of belief or
conviction will not require a subjunctive in the clause that follows,
while no creer, dudar etc., will. Es cierto que or es verdad que
report situations as true and therefore do not involve the subjunctive.
In questions ("Do you believe that...?" etc.) the clause may or may not
involve a subjunctive, depending on the doubt in the mind of the
speaker: ¿Crees que va a llover? or ¿Crees que llueva?
3. Spanish may not omit the relative que as English often omits
“that”.
C. Ojalá (que)
This expression, whose form is invariable, meant originally something
like "O to Allah" and it is used to express a general wish or hope,
without expressing a subject. Followed by the present subjunctive, it
is equivalent in English to "I hope that", or "Let's hope that".
Ojalá (que) vengan mañana.
I hope they come tomorrow.
Ojalá no llueva.
I hope it does not rain.
Note: Ojalá may be used with or without que with no change in
meaning.
D. Subjunctive after "perhaps"
Depending on the degree of doubt felt by the speaker, tal vez,
quizás, quizá, which all mean "perhaps" may be followed by the
indicative or the subjunctive.
Tal vez llegue pronto.
Perhaps he will arrive soon.
(The speaker feels that he probably won't.)
Quizás vamos al cine.
Perhaps we'll go to the movies.
(The speaker feels they probably will.)