Lesson 7: SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD

SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD: CONJUGATION

A Spanish teacher may say: Aprendamos la lección de hoy. This means, Let us learn
the lesson for today.
One may note na parang may mali. Aprender is ER verb, how come it becomes
“aprendamos”?
This happens because the sentence above is not in the indicative mood. It is in
subjunctive mood.

Indicative mood: Reality, Fact, Will surely happen, happening, happened.

Subjunctive mood: Wish, Desire, Emotions,

To conjugate:
AR Verbs:
Indicative: o as a amos áis an
Subjunctive: e es e emos éis en

Hablar to talk
Yo hable
Tú hables
El, Ella, Usted hable
Nosotros hablemos
Vosotros habléis
Ellos, Ellas, Ustedes hablen

ER Verbs
Indicative: o es e emos éis en
Subjunctive: a as a amos áis an

Comer to eat
Yo coma
Tú comas
Él, Ella, Usted coma
Nosotros comamos
Vosotros comáis
Ellos, Ellas, Ustedes coman

IR Verbs
Indicative: o es e imos ís en
Subjunctive: a as a amos áis an

Escribir to write
Yo escriba
Tú escribas
Él, Ella, Usted escriba
Nosotros escribamos
Vosotros escribáis
Ellos, Ellas, Ustedes escriban

SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD:

There are several verb moods in Spanish and other languages. The indicative mood
conveys what the subject perceives as a reality or certainty; it states facts and
convictions .
El precio del oro sube.
The price of gold is going up.
El boletin del tiempo pronosticó sol.
The weather report forecasted sunshine.

Indicative, actually happened, or is happening or will really happen. Facts, reality,

not only wish or desire.

Some verbs that communicate facts, a sense of reality, or certainty are:

Afirmar to declare, to sustain
Comunicar to communicate
Contar to tell
Decir to say
Establecer to establish
Explicar to explain
Indicar to indicate
Informar to inform
Mencionar to mention
Narrar to narrate
Reportar to report
Saber to know

The verbs pensar (to think) and creer (to believe) do not convey certainty as strong as
saber (to know) or afirmar (to state); however, pensar and creer also require the
indicative mood in the dependent clause. Note that in negative and interrogative
forms, pensar and creer are often followed by the subjunctive.
Yo pienso que ella llega al rato.
I think that she will come at any moment.
No pienso que ella llegue.
I don’t think that she will come.
Yo creo que él es fiel contigo.
No creo que él sea fiel contigo.

Note: These sentences are compound sentences, more than one subject.

The negative forms no dudo que (I don’t doubt that) and no niego que (I don’t deny
that) indicate a degree of certainty or belief and may be followed by the indicative
mood.
No dudo que Carlos viene.
I do not doubt that Carlos is coming.
No niego que soy lista.
I do not deny that I am smart.
In both the indicative and the subjunctive, your communication may refer to the past,
the present, or the future.

The subjunctive mood communicates uncertainty, doubt, conjecture, wishes,

desires, requests orders, and other emotions.
The subjunctive appears primarily in subordinate clauses. Remember that a
subordinate clause does not convey a complete statement; it needs a main clause to
communicate its meaning.
Main clause + que + different subject + subjunctive in the subordinate clause
Yo quiero + que + los ciudadanos + protejan el medio ambiente.
I want (that) citizens (to) protect the environment.

These sentences have more than one subject. If it is only one subject, no need to use
the subjunctive mood. One use the infinitive form of the verb.

Yo quiero que tú tengas una casa nueva.

I want you to have a new house. Two subjects, Yo y Tú. I state what I want for you
If only for me, it would be:
Yo quiero tener una casa nueva.
I want to have a new house.

Here are some verbs, used in the main clause, that require the subjunctive mood in the
dependent clause.

WANT/ DESIRE
Amar to like, to love
Desear to desire
Deplorar to deplore
Esperar to hope
Exigir to demand
Ordenar to order
Pedir to ask
Preferir to prefer
Prohibir to forbid
Sugerir to suggest
Querer to wish, to want

Yo deseo que ella termine sus estudios.

Nosotros esperamos que se acabe el semestre.
Su padre prohibe que nosotros fumemos en su casa.
Yo le pido a mi novia que se case conmigo.

FEELINGS/ EMOTIONS
Adorar to adore
Alegrarse to be glad
Arrepentirse to regret
Detestar to detest, to hate
Lamentarse to complain, to lament
Permitir to allow
Querer to love, to want
Sentir to be sorry
Sorprenderse to be surprised
Temer to fear
Tener miedo to be afraid

Notice: Querer is a desire, also a feeling.

Tengo miedo que mi hijo se enferme de COVID.

Te lamentas que mi hermana no se case contigo.
La maestra permite que sus estudiantes jueguen en el patio.
Lo siento que seas feo.
Temo que vayas a fracasar en el concurso de cantos.

DOUBT DENIAL
Dudar to doubt
Negar to deny

The subjunctive is used far more frequently in Spanish than in English, where it has
largely become a written form. Spanish has clear rules for the subjunctive, and its
forms are distinctive.
Dudo que llueva hoy. I doubt it will rain today.
Quiere que la victima denuncie al ladrón.
He wants that the victim denounce the robber.
Dudar in the negative, indicates certainty, reality so the subordinate clause is
indicative mood.
Dudo que llueva hoy.
No dudo que llueve hoy.

The subjunctive after impersonal expressions

Impersonal expressions do not have a specific subject or persons; they always contain
a verb in the third-person singular, usually ser, followed by a masculine adjective.
Learn to use impersonal expressions to build sentences that require the subjunctive in
the subordinate clause. Here is a list of frequently used impersonal expressions:
Es absurdo It is absurd
Es aconsejable It is advisable
Es bueno It is good
Es desalentador It is discouraging
Es difícil It is difficult, unlikely
Es doloroso It hurts, is painful
Es dudoso It is doubtful
Es cómico It is funny
Es extraño It is strange
Es fácil It is easy, likely
Es fantástico It is fantastic
Es importante It is important
Es imposible It is impossible
Es improbable It is unlikely
Es incierto It is uncertain
Es increible It is incredible
Es indispensable It is indispensable
Es (una) lástima It is a pity
Es malo It is bad
Es mejor It is better
Es menester It is necessary
Es necesario It is necessary
Es posible It is possible
Es preciso It is necessary
Es preferible It is better
Es preocupante It is disturbing
Es probable It is likely
Es raro It is unlikely
Es ridículo It is ridiculous
Es una pena It is a pity
Es terrible It is terrible

Es posible que la gente de esta ciudad cambie.

Es cómico que ustedes hablen al mismo tiempo.
Es preocupante que mís hijos se enfermen.
Es malo que ustedes hagan trampas en el juego.
Es una lástima que usted se vaya de aquí.
Es una pena que su hijo no termine la secundaria.

An adverb ending in –mente and other adverbs, such as muy, may be placed between
the form of ser and the adjective, adding emphasis to the expression:
Fue absolutamente imprescindible
It was absolutely indispensable
Es totalment cierto
It is absolutely certain
Es muy probable
It is very probable

Impersonal expressions are followed by a subjunctive clause to convey a command or

a suggestion, a possibility, a doubt, emotions, etc.:
Impersonal expression + que + subjunctive
Es necesario + que + termines
It is necessary that you finish.
Es terrible que hayas perdido tu billetera.
It is terrible that you lost your wallet.

The subjunctive is not used if the impersonal expression indicates certainty:

Es evidente que tu novio es guapo.
It is obvious that your boyfriend is handsome.
¿Es cierto que Marcos tiene dieceocho años?
Is it true that Marcos is eighteen years old?

Some other expressions that indicate certainty or lack of doubt are:

Es obvio It is obvious
Es seguro It is certain
Es verdad It is true
No hay duda There is no doubt

ACTIVITY:
Ejercicio 1: Vas a expresar tus deseos, miedos, dudas, etc., en oraciones completas.
Combina los elementos para crear tus oraciones, incluye tus ideas después de los
puntos suspensivos.
Modelo: esperar/ que mis amigos/ cooperar…
Espero que mis amigos cooperen con mi campaña.
1- desear/ que mis amigos/ respetar…
2- dudar/ que mis compañeros de trabajo/ tener
3- tener miedo de/ que mi jefe/ descubrir que…
4- no querer/ que nadie/ decir…
5- proponer/ que todos me/ dejar…

Ejercicio 2: Usa las expresiones impersonales para predecir tu futuro. Observa el

modelo.
Modelo: Es dudoso que
Es dudoso que tenga cinco hijos.
1- Ojalá que
2- Es totalmente seguro que
3- Es casi improbable que
4- Es indispensable que
5- Puede ser que
6- Es seguro que
7- No es muy probable que