The Spanish Subjunctive: An Introduction

1. The Spanish Subjunctive: An Introduction (El subjuntivo español: una introducción) Quiero que Ud. pase por el Control de Agricultura.

2. The Spanish Subjunctive Until now, you have been using verb tenses (present, preterite, and imperfect) in the indicative mood (or mode). The indicative is used to express real, definite, or factual actions or states of being.

3. The Spanish Subjunctive Now you will learn about the subjunctive mode. It is used to express the hypothetical or subjective, such as a speaker’s attitudes, wishes, feelings, emotions, or doubts. Unlike the indicative, which states facts, the subjunctive describes reality subjectively, or refers to actions or states that are not yet reality at all (and maybe never will be).

4. The Spanish Subjunctive Notice the following examples: Creo que Luis va a Cartagena. I believe that Luis is going to Cartagena. (Certainty: indicative) No creo que Luis vaya a San Andrés. I don’t think that Luis is going to San Andrés. (Uncertainty: subjunctive)

5. The forms of the subjunctive Before we learn usage, we must learn the forms we will be working with. Think of it as learning the mechanics or “nuts and bolts” before assembling the tool. For all but six verbs in Spanish, we can apply a simple three-step process with which to construct the forms. Step 1: Start with the yo form of the verb in the present tense (this applies to all three conjugations): hablo como vivo

6. The forms of the subjunctive Step 1: Start with the yo form of the verb in the present tense (this applies to all three conjugations): hablo como vivo If we are careful to begin with this step, verbs with irregular stems and yo forms will be included and will not be considered irregular in the subjunctive: conocer → conozco oír → oigo tener → tengo decir → digo pedir → pido traer → traigo dormir → duermo venir → vengo perder → pierdo hacer → hago ver → veo querer → quiero

7. The forms of the subjunctive Step 2: Take off the final o of the yo form: habl o com o viv o Step 3: Add the “opposite” endings: For -ar verbs: Add -er verb endings. habl e habl emos habl es habl éis habl e habl en Notice that the first- and third-person singular forms are identical.

8. The forms of the subjunctive Step 3: Add the “opposite” endings: For -er and -ir verbs: Add -ar verb endings to both. com a com amos com as com áis com a com an viv a viv amos viv as viv áis viv a viv an Again, first- and third-person singular forms are identical.

9. The forms of the subjunctive The following spelling changes occur in all forms of the present subjunctive with verbs whose infinitives end in -car, -gar, and -zar. -car c  qu -gar g  gu -zar z  c buscar llegar empezar busque llegue empiece busques llegues empieces busque llegue empiece busquemos lleguemos empecemos busquéis lleguéis empecéis busquen lleguen empiecen

10. The forms of the subjunctive There are only six truly irregular verbs, that is, verbs to which we cannot apply our three-step process. When listed in the following order, the initial letters of each verb form the acronym DISHES, a useful memory device. dé, des, dé, demos, deis, den Dar  Ir  Ser  Haber  Estar  Saber  vaya, vayas, vaya, vayamos, vayáis, vayan sea, seas, sea, seamos, seáis, sean haya, hayas, haya, hayamos, hayáis, hayan esté, estés, esté, estemos, estéis, estén sepa, sepas, sepa, sepamos, sepáis, sepan