Imperfect Subjunctive

1. Imperfect Subjunctive

2. The imperfect subjunctive is used just like the present subjunctive: Noun clauses: If there’s emotion, doubt/denial, es + adj. + que, or an indirect command in the main clause, you need subjunctive in the dependent clause. Adjective clauses: If the object being described doesn’t exist or may not exist, you need subjunctive in the dependent clause. Adverb clauses: certain conjunctions require the subjunctive; time conjunctions require the subjunctive if the action in the clause hasn’t occurred yet.

3. The difference is that you need to use imperfect subjunctive if you need a past tense: I doubt that he studies. – “he studies” would be present subjunctive. I doubt that he studied. – “he studied” would be imperfect subjunctive.

4. Forming the Imperfect Subjunctive Forming the imperfect subjunctive is very easy . . . if you’ve mastered forming the subjunctive, which is very hard. To form the imperfect subjunctive, go to the third person plural of the preterit: hablé hablamos comí comimos hablaste hablasteis comiste comisteis habló hablaron comió comieron Drop the –ron and add the following endings (same for –ar, -er, -ir verbs): -ra -΄ramos hablara habláramos comiera comiéramos -ras -rais hablaras hablarais comieras comierais -ra -ran hablara hablaran comiera comieran

5. There are no exceptions, no irregularities, because, without fail, you go to the third person plural of the preterit, drop the –ron, and add the imperfect subjunctive endings listed on the previous page. However, there are lots of irregulars and stem-changing verbs in the preterit, such as the following: fueron leyeron supieron estuvieron durmieron quisieron pidieron dijeron

6. Click here to go to a lesson on the preterit. Click here to go to a brief practice exercise. Click here to go to your homework.