Presente de subjuntivo

Presente de subjuntivo
(Present Subjunctive)
Introduction

 In Spanish, there are three moods within which all verb tenses are classified:

1. Indicative
The indicative expresses a statement of fact, truth, or belief. Many of the tenses
you have already learned are part of the indicative mood.

Present: Yo vivo en una casa en las afueras.

I live in a house in the suburbs.

Preterite: El mecánico arregló mi coche en el taller.

The mechanic fixed my car at the shop.

Imperfect: Yo siempre hacía quehaceres cuando vivía con mis padres.

I always did chores when I lived with my parents.

2. Imperative
The imperative is used to command someone to do something. All of the different
command forms (familiar, formal, nosotros, vosotros) are part of the imperative
mood.

Saca la basura.
Take out the trash.

Preparen la ensalada de papas.

Prepare the potato salad.

Sch. Spanish 3, Profa Jenkins 1

 Presente de subjuntivo

3. Subjunctive
The subjunctive is used in a variety of contexts, such as expressing feelings,
attitudes, and things that are viewed by the speaker as uncertain or hypothetical.

Espero que salgas bien en el examen.

I hope that you do well on the test.

Formation of the Present Subjunctive

 To form the present subjunctive, follow the simple steps below:

1. Start with the present tense ‗yo‘ form
2. Drop the ‗o‘ from the end
3. Add the OPPOSITE verb ending
 -AR verbs use endings normally associated with –ER/-IR verbs
 -ER/-IR verbs use endings normally associated with –AR verbs
o The charts below show the subjunctive verb endings:

-AR Verbs -ER/-IR Verbs

Yo -e Nosotros -emos Yo -a Nosotros -amos

Tú -es Vosotros -éis Tú -as Vosotros -áis

Él Ellos Él Ellos
Ella -e Ellas -en Ella -a Ellas -an
Ud Uds Ud Uds

For example:

Es importante que tú leas la novela cuidadosamente.

It‘s important that you read the novel carefully.

Sara recomienda que visitemos el Museo del Prado cuando estamos en Madrid.
Sara recommends that we visit the Prado Museum when we‘re in Madrid.

Sch. Spanish 3, Profa Jenkins 2

 Presente de subjuntivo

o ¡Atención! Do you remember why you have to start with the present tense
‗yo‘ form?
 Any irregularities that occur in the present tense ‗yo‘ form…
 —GO verbs
 Stem Changes
 Spelling Changes
 Etc.
…will also be included in the subjunctive forms!

For example:

Infinitive: HACER MOSTRAR CONDUCIR

Present ‗yo‘: hago muestro conduzco

haga hagamos muestre mostremos conduzca conduzcamos

Subjunctive:
hagas hagáis muestres mostréis conduzcas conduzcáis

haga hagan muestre muestren conduzca conduzcan

 A Note About Stem Changes…

As seen above, stem changes that occur in the present tense will also occur in the
subjunctive:

o –AR & -ER Verbs

Just like the present tense, -AR & -ER verbs that have a stem change will
change in all forms EXCEPT ‗nosotros‘ and ‗vosotros‘

For example: Stem Change

inside the BOOT!
VOLVER (o-ue)
vuelva volvamos
vuelvas volváis
vuelva vuelvan

Sch. Spanish 3, Profa Jenkins 3

 Presente de subjuntivo

o –IR Verbs
Unlike –AR & -ER verbs, -IR verbs that stem change in the subjunctive will
have a stem change in all six of their forms, including ‗nosotros‘ and
‗vosotros‘. However, the stem change in the ‗nosotros‘ and ‗vosotros‘ forms
may be different than the other forms. In the ‗nosotros‘ and ‗vosotros‘
forms, the possible stem changes are: e  i & o  u.

For example:

DORMIR (o-ue) SENTIR (e-ie)

duerma durmamos sienta sintamos
duermas durmáis sientas sintáis
duerma duerman sienta sientan

Es buena idea que tú duermas por lo menos siete horas.

It‘s a good idea that you sleep at least seven hours.

Es una lástima que él no se sienta bien.

It‘s a shame that he doesn‘t feel well.

 Spelling Changes
Some verbs have a spelling change in the subjunctive. This spelling change occurs in ALL
six verb forms.
Verbs that end in… Spelling Change in Subjunctive
-zar -ce
-car -que

-gar -gue

For example:

PRACTICAR Es importante que nosotros

practique practiquemos practiquemos.
practiques practiquéis It‘s important that we
practique practiquen practice.

Sch. Spanish 3, Profa Jenkins 4

 Presente de subjuntivo

 Totally Irregular Verbs

There are 6 verbs that are totally irregular in the subjunctive:
Infinitive Subjunctive Infinitive Subjunctive
vaya vayamos dé demos
Ir vayas vayáis Dar des deis
vaya vayan dé den
sea seamos sepa sepamos
Ser seas seáis Saber sepas sepáis
sea sean sepa sepan
esté estemos haya hayamos
Estar estés estéis Haber* hayas hayáis
esté estén haya hayan
* The verb HABER is a presentative verb (there is/are). The basic form—haya—is the only form
used as a main verb. The remaining forms are used as helping verbs in compound tenses that you
will learn later.

Uses of the Present Subjunctive

 There are many contexts that require the use of the subjunctive in Spanish
 To help you learn to use the subjunctive, remember the acronym below:

Want, wish, will

Emotion
Each of these uses of the
Impersonal expressions
subjunctive is explained in the
Recommendations & advice following pages of this packet.
Doubt, disbelief, denial

Ojalá

 The subjunctive is most often used in statements comprised of two clauses—a main clause
and a subordinate clause—which are connected by the conjunction ―que‖. For example:

Es bueno que tú ayudes con los quehaceres domésticos.

Main Connector Subordinate

Clause Clause

Sch. Spanish 3, Profa Jenkins 5

 Presente de subjuntivo

o The main clause contains an expression that triggers the use of the subjunctive
(See WEIRDO acronym)
o The subordinate clause contains the verb in the subjunctive
o Note that, in statements that use the subjunctive, the subject changes
between the main clause and the subordinate clause!

Necesito que tú vayas al supermercado.

I need for you to go to the supermarket.

This statement uses the subjunctive because:

1. It expresses want/wish/will
2. It has both clauses and the connector ―que‖
3. It has a change of subject (‗yo‘ in the main clause, ‗tú‘
in the subordinate clause).

Necesito ir al supermercado.
I need to go to the supermarket.

This statement does NOT use the subjunctive because:

1. It does not have both a main clause and a subordinate
clause, nor does it have a connector
2. It does not have a change of subject, therefore an
infinitive is used

WEIRDO Explained

Now let‘s take a closer look at each of the WEIRDO categories that require the use of the
subjunctive.

ant, Wish, Will

 The subjunctive is used when expressing what you want or wish for another person to do.
 Below are some common main clauses that express want, wish, and/or will.

Sch. Spanish 3, Profa Jenkins 6

 Presente de subjuntivo

En español… En inglés…

Querer que… To want that

Esperar que… To hope that

Desear que… To wish that

Preferir que… To prefer that

Rogar que… To beg/plead that

Necesitar que… To need that

Insistir en que… To insist that

Pedir que… To ask/request that

Prohibir que… To prohibit that

Importar que… To matter/be important that

Mandar que… To order that

Examples:

Mamá necesita que nosotros limpiemos la casa.

Mom needs for us to clean the house.

Sara prefiere que yo prepare panqueques.

Sara prefers that I prepare pancakes.

motion

 The subjunctive is also used when expressing an emotion, feeling or attitude toward
something
 Below are some main clauses that commonly express emotion, attitude, and/or feeling

Sch. Spanish 3, Profa Jenkins 7

 Presente de subjuntivo

En español… En inglés…

Alegrarse (de) que… To be happy that

Gustar que… To like that

Molestar que… To bother that

Sentir que… To regret/be sorry that

Sorprender que… To surprise that

Temer que… To fear that

Tener miedo (de) que… To be afraid that

Examples:

Siento que tu abuelo esté tan enfermo.

I‘m sorry that your grandfather is so sick.

Me sorprende que ellos se casen ya.

I‘m surprised that they‘re getting married already.

mpersonal Expressions

 Another common context which requires the subjunctive is impersonal expressions

 Impersonal expressions often convey someone‘s opinion or judgment about something,
but these expressions are phrased in an impersonal way, most often following the
pattern ―es + adjective + que‖
 Below are several impersonal expressions frequently used with the subjunctive

En español… En inglés…

Es bueno que… It‘s good that

Es malo que… It‘s bad that

Es importante que… It‘s important that

Sch. Spanish 3, Profa Jenkins 8

 Presente de subjuntivo

Es mejor que… It‘s better that

Es necesario que… It‘s necessary that

Es urgente que… It‘s urgent that

Es extraño que… It‘s strange that

Es una lástima que… It‘s a shame that

Es ridículo que… It‘s ridiculous that

Es terrible que… It‘s terrible that

Es triste que… It‘s sad that

Es buena/mala idea que… It‘s a good/bad idea that

Examples:

Es extraño que haya tanto tráfico hoy.

It‘s strange that there is so much traffic today.

Es importante que conservemos los recursos naturales.

It‘s important that we conserve natural resources.

ecommendations & Advice

 The subjunctive is also used in contexts in which you recommend or advise that someone
do something
 Some common main clauses that express a recommendation or advice are:

En español… En inglés…

Aconsejar que… To advise that

Sugerir que… To suggest that

Recomendar que… To recommend that

Sch. Spanish 3, Profa Jenkins 9

 Presente de subjuntivo

Examples:

Sugiero que pienses en este nuevo tratamiento.

I suggest that you think about this new treatment.

El camarero recomienda que pidamos el salmón.

The waiter recommends that we order the salmon.

oubt, Disbelief, Denial

 Another common reason to use the subjunctive is when the statement expresses doubt,
disbelief, denial or uncertainty
 Below are several main clauses that express doubt, disbelief and/or denial

En español… En inglés…

Dudar que… To doubt that

Negar que… To deny that

No creer que… To not believe that

No estar seguro/a (de) que… To not be sure that

No es cierto que…
It‘s not true that
No es verdad que…

No es seguro que… It‘s not certain that

Es imposible que… It‘s impossible that

Es improbable que… It‘s improbable that

(No) Es posible que… It‘s (not) possible that

(No) Es probable que… It‘s (not) probable that

Sch. Spanish 3, Profa Jenkins 10

 Presente de subjuntivo

Examples:

Dudo que aprueben la nueva ley de conservación.

I doubt that they‘ll approve the new conservation law.

Es posible que la deforestación lleve a la extinción de varias

especies de animales.

It‘s possible that deforestation will lead to the

extinction of various species of animals.

jalá

 The word ―ojalá‖ is quite common in Spanish

 ―Ojalá‖ is actually derived from Arabic, when it was used to express the sentiment ―May
God (Allah) grant that…‖
 The most common contemporary interpretation of ―ojalá‖ is ―hopefully‖, but keep in mind
that it is much stronger than simply saying ―Espero que…‖
 The phrase ―Ojalá que…‖ is followed by the subjunctive

Example:

Ojalá que podamos proteger las especies en peligro de extinción.

Hopefully we can protect endangered species.

Sch. Spanish 3, Profa Jenkins 11

 Presente de subjuntivo

Additional Uses of the Subjunctive

 In addition to the WEIRDO categories, there are some other common situations that
require the use of the subjunctive
o Conjunctions
 Conjunctions are used to connect other words/phrases
 With some conjunctions, the subjunctive is used to express a situation or
action that is uncertain or hypothetical
 The following conjunctions always require the subjunctive:

En español… En inglés…

A menos que Unless

Antes (de) que Before

Con tal (de) que Provided that

En caso (de) que In case

Para que So that

Sin que Without

Example:

Voy al taller para que arreglen mi carro.

I‘m going to the shop so that they may fix my

car.

 Some conjunctions, however, can be used with either the subjunctive or the
indicative, depending on the context:
 Use the indicative when expressing something that habitually happens
or something that happened in the past
 Use the subjunctive when expressing a future action

En español… En inglés…

Cuando When

Después de que After

Sch. Spanish 3, Profa Jenkins 12

 Presente de subjuntivo

En cuanto As soon as

Hasta que Until

Tan pronto como As soon as

Examples:
Indicative
Siempre recogemos mucha basura cuando vamos al parque.

We always pick up a lot of trash when we go to the

park.

Subjunctive
El problema no va a mejorar hasta que reduzcamos
el uso de los combustibles.

The problem isn‘t going to improve until we

reduce the use of fossil fuels.

o Adjective Clauses
 The subjunctive is used in adjective clauses that refer to someone or
something that either does not exist or whose existence is uncertain

Examples:
Nonexistent
No encontré ningunos zapatos que me gusten en la
zapatería.

I didn‘t find any shoes that I like in the shoe store.

Uncertain
Busco un banco que me dé un préstamo.
I‘m looking for a bank that will give me a loan.

 In contexts in which the adjective clause refers to someone or something

that is clearly known, certain or definite, the indicative is used.

Sch. Spanish 3, Profa Jenkins 13

 Presente de subjuntivo

When NOT to Use the Subjunctive

 Now that you‘ve learned a variety of contexts that require the subjunctive, let‘s review
the contexts in which you do NOT use the subjunctive
 Remember…when expressing something that is believed to be true or certain, or when
making a statement of fact, you use the indicative—NOT the subjunctive
 Below are some phrases that require the indicative
En español… En inglés…

No dudar que… To not doubt that

No cabe duda que…

There is no doubt that
No hay duda que…

No negar que… To not deny that

Creer que…
To believe/think that
Pensar que…

Estar seguro/a (de) que… To be sure that

Es seguro que… It‘s certain that

Es verdad que…
It‘s true that
Es cierto que…

Es obvio que… It‘s obvious that

Examples:

Es obvio que el cambio climático es un problema grave.

It‘s obvious that climate change is a serious problem.

No cabe duda que la contaminación del agua presenta una

amenaza severa a los animales marinos.

There‘s no doubt that water pollution presents a

severe threat to marine animals.

Sch. Spanish 3, Profa Jenkins 14