Present Subjunctive Expresando deseos, necesidad, voluntad, dudas y negación © 2008 BITTERHANK – modified 2014 RM

Present Subjunctive Practice Brief Description Setup Words © 2008 BITTERHANK Present Subjunctive Brief Description Setup Words Verb Formation Constructing a Sentence Final Thoughts Practice

Pasado (preterito/imperfecto) What is “subjunctive”? *The present subjunctive is a “mood” not a verb tense. *expresses desire/wish, recommendations,uncertainty, probability, possibility, doubt, emotional reaction, future actions. *opposite of the indicative mood (which expresses certainty, what is clear, or what is concrete.) Presente Pasado (preterito/imperfecto) Tiempos perfectos Futuro *Condicional Presente Pasado/imperfecto) Tiempos perfectos *Futuro *Condicional Home

Setup Words querer (ie) = to want sugerir (ie) = to suggest These words, used in the first clause of a sentence, set up the use of the subjunctive in the second clause. What is said after these words may or may not happen, so the conjugation of the second verb is not the present tense as you know it. querer (ie) = to want sugerir (ie) = to suggest recomendar (ie) = to recommend insistir en = to insist esperar = to hope ojalá que = hopefully / it’s hopeful

Setup Words I may want you to do something, but you may not do it. I may suggest that you read the rest of this, but… Your parents might recommend that you marry right away, but you might not do it at all. A friend may insist that you go with him, but you might not want to go. You might hope that something happens, but it may not happen. Home

Helpful Links Colby This site is AWESOME! It even has sound. It has the present subjunctive and so many more topics for practice. Spaleon.com This site can also be used for other verb tenses. Bowdoin Look for “subjuntivo”. There are many other good exercises. Quia.com Under “subcategory”, look for “subjunctive” or “subjuntivo”. Home

Subjunctive in Context To set up the subjunctive there are three things that must be in the sentence. One of the setup words 2. The word “que” 3. A subject change

Subjunctive in Context Sugerimos que ellos duerman más. Setup word: we suggest ellos: subject change que: that “duerman” = This is the subjunctive conjugation.

Subjunctive in Context Recomiendo que tú hagas la tarea. Setup word: I recommend tú: subject change que: that “hagas” = This is the subjunctive conjugation.

Subjunctive in Context Ella quiere que yo viva en España. yo: subject change “viva” = I live (subjunctive) I may or may not do it, even though she wants me to. Note: In English this would be, “She wants me to live in Spain. In Spanish the infinitive is not used, even though it sounds like it should be. Setup word: she wants que: that

Subjunctive in Context In the examples that you see on the next slide, remember that the subjunctive is used in the second half because it may or may not happen. If this sounds strange to you, it’s because we don’t recognize the present subjunctive in our spoken English. Please also remember that the examples that use “querer” are going to sound different in their English translations than the others. Consider the following example. I want you to go to the store. Many students want to say: Te quiero ir a la tienda. The right translation is: Quiero que vayas a la tienda. The red example is not Spanish grammar, even though it sounds or looks like it should be. Use the subjunctive after querer with que and a subject change.

Subjunctive in Context Ojalá que entiendas bien esta lección. (Hopefully you understand this lesson.) Insistimos en que ustedes regresen a tiempo. (We insist that you all come back on time.) Mi madre quiere que pongamos la mesa. (My want wants us to set the table.) ¿Sugieres que yo se lo dé a ellos? (Do you suggest that I give it to them?) Home

Forming the Subjunctive Verb Formation Menu The Basics Stem Changing Verbs Spelling Changes Irregular Verbs Home

Forming the Subjunctive In order to conjugate a verb in the present subjunctive, you have to know well the conjugations of the present indicative (the present tense that you already know). First: Use the “yo” form of the verb in the present tense. hablo como vivo Next: Drop the ‘o’ habl_ com_ viv_ Last: Add an opposite ending. This means for -ar verbs, use -er endings, and for -er/-ir verbs, use -ar endings. hable coma viva

Forming the Subjunctive Subjunctive Verb Endings -ar Verbs -e -emos -es -éis -e -en -er Verbs -a -amos -as -áis -a -an -ir Verbs -a -amos -as -áis -a -an

Forming the Subjunctive Examples of Regular Verbs caminar camine caminemos camines caminéis camine caminen compartir comparta compartamos compartas compartáis comparta compartan comprender comprenda comprendamos comprendas comprendáis comprenda comparendan

Forming the Subjunctive Keep any changes occurring in the “yo” form of the present indicative Infinitive acostarse (ue) decir divertirse (ie) dormir (ue) entender (ie) poner preferir (ie) reírse (i) venir Present Indicative me acuesto digo me divierto duermo entiendo pongo prefiero río vengo Present Subjunctive me acueste diga me divierta duerma entienda ponga prefiera ría venga Verb Menu

Forming the Subjunctive -ar and -er stem changing verbs still have no stem change for nosotros and vosotros in the present subjunctive. However, certain -ir verbs do. Note the following. poder (ue) pueda puedas podamos podáis puedan acostarse (ue) me acueste te acuestes se acueste nos acostemos os acostéis se acuesten preferir (ie / i) prefiera prefieras prefiramos prefiráis prefieran

Forming the Subjunctive A note about -ir verbs Stem changing verbs ending in -ir have multiple stem changes. They are the only verbs that have stem changes in the preterit and present participle. Whenever you see two choices after an infinitive the first is for the present indicative and four conjugations of the subjunctive. The second is for the nosotros / vosotros form of the subjunctive, the preterit, and the present participle. See the following examples. divertirse (ie / i) present indicative me divierto nos divertimos te diviertes os divertís se divierte se divierten preterit me divertí nos divertimos te divertiste os divertisteis se divirtió se divirtieron present subjunctive me divierta nos divirtamos te diviertas os divirtáis se divierta se divierten present participle divirtiendo

Forming the Subjunctive Here are some other -ir stem changing verbs that have changes in the present indicative, present subjunctive, preterit, and present participle. dormir (ue / u) = to sleep medir (i / i) = to measure mentir (ie / i) = to lie morir (ue / u) = to die pedir (i / i) = to aks for preferir (ie / i) = to prefer reírse (i / i) = to laugh servir (i / i) = to serve vestirse (i / i) = to get dressed Verb Menu

Forming the Subjunctive Spelling Changes for Pronunciation Words ending with -gar / -car / -zar will have spelling changes in the present subjunctive in order to maintain pronunciation. For example: “pagar” INCORRECTO “page”. The problem ? the hard “G” sound is lost. A similar problem arises with -car verbs. “ce” sounds is somewhat like “say”, but the sound should be “kay”.

Forming the Subjunctive Spelling Changes for Pronunciation To solve this problem verbs that end with -gar have “gue” in their endings. You may remember a similar change in the first conjugation of the preterit. However, in the subjunctive the spelling change is throughout all of the conjugations. pagar pague paguemos pagues paguéis pague paguen

Forming the Subjunctive Spelling Changes for Pronunciation To solve this problem with -car verbs “que” is in their endings. Again, you may remember a similar change in the first conjugation of the preterit. However, in the subjunctive the spelling change is throughout all of the conjugations. clasificar clasifique clasifiquemos clasifiques clasifiquéis clasifique clasifiquen

Forming the Subjunctive Spelling Changes for Pronunciation The problem with -zar verbs is that the letters “ze” are never combined in Spanish. Whenever that happens, the z changes to c. bostezar bostece bostecemos bosteces bostecéis bostece bostecen Verb Menu

Forming the Subjunctive The following verbs are irregular in the subjunctive. Only the “yo” form of the subjunctive is shown, but the other conjugations will follow the same pattern as the regular verbs. Infinitive dar estar haber ir saber ser Present Indicative doy estoy he voy sé soy Present Subjunctive dé esté haya vaya sepa sea Verb Menu

Things to Keep in Mind If there is no subject change, then there is no subjunctive. I want to go with you. Quiero ir contigo. I want you to go with me. Quiero que vayas conmigo. The second example uses the subjunctive because there is a subject change. I can, I should, I need to, I have to, I want to, I’m going to, etc. All of these are followed by an infinitive in Spanish if there is no subject change.

They hope that they do well. = Ellos esperan hacer bien. (infinitive) Things to Keep in Mind If there is no subject change, then there is no subjunctive. Using a phrase with “hope” in it can be tricky. Ellos esperan que tú hagas bien. They hope that you do well. (subjunctive) Ellos esperan que yo haga bien. They hope that I do well. (subjunctive) How would you say, “They hope that they do well.”? There’s no subject change, right? Could the same sentence be said in English, “They hope to do well.”? They hope that they do well. = Ellos esperan hacer bien. (infinitive)

Things to Keep in Mind There is no future subjunctive. Again, using esperar (to hope) or ojalá (hopefully) can be tricky. Ella espera que vengan. She hopes that they (will) come. (subjunctive) Ojalá que él aprenda. Hopefully he (will) learn. (subjunctive) Even though in English we would use the future tense, it isn’t used in these cases in Spanish. You can see that the two sentences above have two possible translations. Basically, if everything else tells you that you should use the subjunctive (setup verb / que / subject change) you should use it. But don’t forget... We hope that we’ll be able to go. Esperamos poder ir. (infinitive) If there is no subject change, don’t use the subjunctive.

Be careful with “querer”. Things to Keep in Mind Be careful with “querer”. When a subjunctive sentence that uses “querer” is translated into English, the subjunctive verb is an infinitive. Note the following. Quiero que ellos estudien más. I want them to study more. Queremos que los niños se acuesten ahora. We want the kids to go to bed now. ¿Queréis que yo os lo dé? Do you guys want me to give it to you? Sus padres quieren que ella saque la basura. Her parents want her to take out the trash. Mi mamá quiere que sepamos la verdad. My mom wants us to know the truth. Él quiere que tú seas simpático. He wants you to be nice. Ellos no quieren que ella vaya. They don’t want her to go. Mi papá quiere que yo ponga la mesa. My dad wants me to set the table.

Be careful with “querer”. Things to Keep in Mind Be careful with “querer”. It may help to think that you’re saying, “I want that they study.” or “We want that the kids go to bed.” It sounds a little funny, but it may keep you from using the infinitive when the subjunctive should be used. The examples below are WRONG. I’m showing them to you so that you can see how, to many, it makes sense to write sentences this way. Los quiero estudiar. (I want them to study.) Queremos los niños acostarse. (We want the kids to go to bed.) These sentences are right: Quiero que ellos estudien. Queremos que los niños se acuesten.

Things to Keep in Mind Home Be careful with “querer”. It’s not always wrong to use an infinitive after querer. Remember: If there is no subject change, there is no subjunctive. I want to call them. Quiero llamarlos. She wants to come. Ella quiere venir. They want to have fun. Ellos quieren divertirse. We want to laugh. Queremos reírnos Home