COM: Gramática Lesson - Presente Subjuntivo, Part 2
Presente Subjuntivo, Part 2
Stem Changes in the Present Subjunctive
Watch this grammar video lesson. Pause the video when needed and take as many notes as you would like!
Here are the conjugation rules explained in the video above. Read over these rules and create flash cards if you wish. In the next section you will review these grammar rules and then, practice what you learned with the online activities.
Rule #1: -ar and -er verbs
- e → ie
- o → ue
For verbs in this group, the -e in the last syllable of the stem (the yo form of the present indicative) changes to -ie, or the -o in the last syllable of the stem (the yo form of the present indicative) changes to -ue. All subjunctive forms follow the stem change except for nosotros and vosotros, which use the infinitive stem.
Example verb: querer
- Subjunctive stem: quer → quier-
- Subjunctive stem for nosotros and vosotros forms: querer - er = quer-
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| quiera quieras quiera |
queramos queráis quieran |
Rule #2: -ir verbs
- e → ie
- o → ue
All e → ie and o → ue stem-changing -ir verbs follow the same changes as in the present indicative, except the nosotros and vosotros, forms, in which the e changes to i and the o changes to u.
Example verb: sentir
- Subjunctive stem: sent → sient-
- Subjunctive stem for nosotros and vosotros forms: sent → sint-
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| sienta sientas sienta |
sintamos sintáis sientan |
Example verb: dormir
- Subjunctive stem: dorm → duerm-
- Subjunctive stem for nosotros and vosotros forms: dorm → durm-
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| duerma duermas duerma |
durmamos durmáis duerman |
Rule #3: -ir verbs
- e → i
All e → i stem-changing -ir verbs in the present indicative maintain the stem change in all forms of the present subjunctive.
Example verb: pedir
- Subjunctive stem: ped → pid-
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| pida pidas pida |
pidamos pidáis pidan |
Spelling Changes
Some verbs in the present subjunctive undergo spelling changes. This often occurs for reasons of pronunciation, and these changes often match those of verbs with spelling changes in the preterit. Let's take a look at some of these verbs.
-ger and -gir Verbs
Verbs ending in -ger and -gir have a j instead of a g in the subjunctive. The base form for these verbs is the first person form of the present tense, which undergoes a spelling change.
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| escoja escojas escoja |
escojamos escojáis escojan |
-car, -gar and -zar Verbs
Verbs ending in -car, -gar, and -zar undergo a change in the final consonant before -ar. These consonants change to:
- c → qu
- g → gu
- z → c
Some of these verbs, such as empezar, also undergo stem changes.
Example verb: sacar
- Subjunctive stem: sac → saqu-
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| saque saques saque |
saquemos saquéis saquen |
Example verb: llegar
- Subjunctive stem: lleg → llegu-
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| llegue llegues llegue |
lleguemos lleguéis lleguen |
Example verb: empezar
- Subjunctive stem: empez → empiec-/empec- (nosostros/vosotros)
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| empiece empieces empiece |
empecemos empecéis empiecen |
Video Presentation
Here is a short but important video lesson to wrap up the uses of subjunctive verbs. Be prepared to pause and take notes.
Practice Activity
RESOURCES IN THIS MODULE ARE OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES (OER) OR CREATED BY GAVS UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED. SOME IMAGES USED UNDER SUBSCRIPTION.