(LRI) - Grammar: El Subjuntivo Lesson

Grammar: El Subjuntivo

The Spanish present subjunctive (el presente de  subjuntivo) is used to talk about situations of doubt, desire, emotion, necessity, or uncertainty. You were most likely introduced to this concept in Spanish 3. There is no exact equivalent in the English language to the subjunctive tense, however, it is a concept that can be easy to understand.

When you make the statement "I hope you have a good weekend" or "I doubt she has a lot of time", the underlined verb is the subjunctive verb. Although we do NOT change the way we conjugate that verb in English, we do have to change the verb in Spanish. Luckily, if you remember learning how to form formal commands, it will help you understand these conjugations!

Let's continue the studies of the subjunctive tense by watching the following video lesson. Be prepared to take notes. You can pause this video lesson at any time. It is very important for you to understand when and how to use subjunctive verbs in context in the Spanish language.  

   

Present Subjunctive Stem Formula  

The formula for forming the present subjunctive stem of a verb is the following:  

Start with the  yo  form of present indicative minus the  o  ending.  

                     Ejemplo: hablar - hablo - habl

                     Ejemplo: tener - tengo - teng

Regular Present Subjunctive Endings  

Once you have the stem, you will add the present subjunctive ending that matches your subject. There are only two ending sets for the present subjunctive: one for  -ar  verbs and one for both  -er  and  -ir  verbs. You will notice that these endings are "opposite" from the conventional regular present tense endings, similar to when we learned formal commands. 

¿Cómo Se Forma?

In the table below are full present subjunctive conjugations for  hablar,  tener, and  vivir:

SUBJECT	HABLAR	TENER	VIVIR
yo	hable	tenga	viva
tú	hables	tengas	vivas
usted, él, ella	hable	tenga	viva
nosotros	hablemos	tengamos	vivamos
vosotros	habléis	tengáis	viváis
ustedes, ellos, ellas	hablen	tengan	vivan

 

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 flashcards if you wish.  In the next section, you will review these grammar rules and then, practice what you learned with the online activities.   

Stem Changes in the Present Subjunctive  

RULE ONE: e >  ie  and  o >  ue  Stem Changes with -ar and -er verbs

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, just like present tense boot verbs.

Present Subjunctive Conjugation for  the Verb "Querer"

quiera	queramos
quieras	queráis
quiera	quieran

RULE TWO: e >  ie  and  o >  ue  Stem Changes with  -ir  Verbs  

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.  

Present Subjunctive Conjugation for the Verb "Sentir"

sienta	sintamos
sientas	sintáis
sienta	sientan

Present Subjunctive Conjugation for the Verb "Dormir"

duerma	durmamos
duermas	durmáis
duerma	duerman

RULE THREE: e >  i  Stem Changes with  -ir  Verbs  

All  e >  i  stem-changing  -ir  verbs in the present indicative maintain the stem change in  all  forms of the present subjunctive.  

Present Subjunctive Conjugation for the Verb "Pedir"

pida	pidamos
pidas	pidáis
pida	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 preterite. Let's take a look at some of these verbs.  

EXAMPLE ONE: -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.

Present Subjunctive Conjugation for the Verb "Escoger"

escoja	escojamos
escojas	escojáis
escoja	escojan

EXAMPLE TWO: -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  qu,  gu, and  c, respectively. Some of these verbs, such as  empezar, also undergo stem changes.  

Present Subjunctive Conjugation for the Verb "Sacar

saque	saquemos
saques	saquéis
saque	saquen

Present Subjunctive Conjugation for the Verb "Llegar"

llegue	lleguemos
llegues	lleguéis
llegue	lleguen

Present Subjunctive Conjugation for the Verb "Empezar"

empiece	empecemos
empieces	empecéis
empiece	empiecen

 

Irregular Present Subjunctive Verbs

There are only six truly irregular verbs in the subjunctive. You'll find the conjugations for each of these verbs in the table below.

Vamos a Practicar

To review conjugating the subjunctive tense, please complete the practice activity below.

 

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