(RE) - Review of Subjunctive Lesson

Review of Subjunctive

As you previously learned, the Spanish present subjunctive (el presente del 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 informal commands, it will help you understand these conjugations!

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.

Chart reviewing conjugation with ar, er, and ir verb endings. Headings are from left to right, ubject ar verb endings, er and ir verb endings, yo, e, a, tú, es, as Usted, é, ella, e, a, nosotros, emos, amos, vosotros, éis, áis, ustedes, ellos, ellas, en, an

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

Examples of conjugations chart. Headings from left to right are Subject, Hablar, Tener, Vivir. Examples follow with 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, habien, tengan, vivan

 

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 tables below.

Using the acronym DISHES to remember irregular verb conjugation. Headings are the letters, left to right, DISHES, dar, to give, ir, to go, saber, to know, haber, there is, are, auxiliary verb, estar, to be, ser, to be. Columns from left to right, dé, vaya, sepa, haya, esté, sea, des, vayas, sepas, haya, estés, seas, dé, vaya, sepa, haya, esté, sea, demos, vayamos, sepamos, haya, estemos, seamos, deis, vayáis, sepáis, haya, estéis, seáis, den, vayan, sepan, haya, estén, sean

There are a handful of reasons to use the subjunctive tense. Let's review those now.

1.When the sentence expresses hope, feelings, and wishes, ¿Quieres que estudiemos más? Esperamos que aistas al evento de este domingo. Espero que te vaya bien en la entrevista mañana.

2.When the sentence expresses doubt or denial, No creo que tú puedas terminar la tarea hoy. Dudo que en el pueblo haya mucho tráfico. Paola no cree que su profesor le dé la califccación que ella espera.

3.When the sentence expresses a suggestion, Yo recomiendo que tú hables con ella. Mi madre sugiere que nosotros terminemos la tarea hoy.

Práctica: ¿Es Subjuntivo o No?

Please complete the following activity. 

 

 

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