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

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.

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).

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)

hablocomovivo Step 1: Start with the yo form of the verb in the present tense (this applies to all three conjugations): 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.

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 The forms of the subjunctive hablocomovivo decir → digo hacer → hago perder → pierdo querer → quiero pedir → pido traer → traigo oír → oigo tener → tengo venir → vengo ver → veo dormir → duermo Step 1: Start with the yo form of the verb in the present tense (this applies to all three conjugations):

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

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

-car c  qu 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. -gar g  gu-zar z  c buscar busque busques busque busquemos busquéis busquen llegar llegue llegues llegue lleguemos lleguéis lleguen empezar empiece empieces empiece empecemos empecéis empiecen

Dar  Ir  Ser  Haber  Estar  Saber  dé, des, dé, demos, deis, den 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 There are only six truly irregular verbs, that is, verbs to which we cannot apply our three-step process. The forms of the subjunctive When listed in the following order, the initial letters of each verb form the acronym DISHES, a useful memory device.