EL SUBJUNTIVO
8A
Verbs show the action and they
also show a tense and a mood.


The tense tells you
the time of the
action
Present, preterit,
future, etc are
tenses.
 The
mood tells
the speaker’s
attitude towards
the action.
 Indicative,
commands and
the subjunctive
are moods.
INDICATIVE

You are late.

I am sick.

Juan studies
VS
SUBJUNCTIVE



It is important
that you be on
time.
I wish I were not
sick.
The teacher insists
that he study.
What is the “subjunctive”?


The present subjunctive is a “mood” in
Spanish. It is used to express
uncertainty, doubt, emotional reaction, or
future actions.
The subjunctive conjugation of a verb is
usually used in the second part of a
sentence.

For example, I may say, “I want you to study.” You
may or may not do it, so the word “to study” would
be conjugated in the present subjunctive.
Setup Words

These words, used in the first clause of a sentence, set up the
use of the subjunctive in the second clause. What is said after
these words may or may not happen, so the conjugation of the
second verb is not the present tense as you know it.

querer (ie) =
to want

sugerir (ie) =
to suggest

recomendar (ie) =
to recommend

insistir en =
to insist

esperar =
to hope

ojalá que =
hopefully / it’s hopeful
Subjunctive in Context
To set up the
subjunctive
there are
three things
that must be
in the
sentence.
1.
One of the setup
words
2. The word “que”
3. A verb that shows
a subject change
Notice that the SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD consists of
two clauses, joined together by “que” :

It is bad
that
we can’t go.
-Es horrible
que
no podamos ir.
that
she is
wearing that dress.
-Es escandaloso que
ella lleve ese vestido.
 It bothers me
that
he can’t
come.
-Me molesta
que
él no pueda venir

It’s scandalous
Forming the Subjunctive
In order to conjugate a verb in the present subjunctive, you have
to know well the conjugations of the present indicative (the
present tense that you already know).
1. First:
hablo
2. Next:
habl_
3. Last:
endings,
hable
Put the verb in the “yo” form of the present tense.
como
vivo
Drop the ‘o’
com_
viv_
Add an opposite ending. This means for -ar verbs, use -er
and for -er/-ir verbs, use -ar endings.
coma
viva
Subjunctive Endings
A. Rewrite the following verbs in
the subjunctive.
Yo
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Tú
él
Nosotros
Ellos
Hablar ____ ____ ____ ____ ____
Comer ____ ____ ____ ____ ____
Dormir ____ ____ ____ ____ ____
(o-ue)
Leer
____ ____ ____ ____ ____
Pensar ____ ____ ____ ____ ____
(e-ie)
B. Traduzca al español.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
I recommend that you have your passport.
We suggest that they (boys) drink their
water before (antes de …) boarding.
I want that you talk to the travel agent
tomorrow.
You prefer that the plane leaves early.
The pilot wants that the passengers listen.