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, preterit, and imperfect) in the indicative mood (or mode). The indicative is used to express real, definite, or factual actions or states of being. In this chapter, 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).

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.

Yo quiero que Juan vaya a la fiesta. main clausesubordinate clause S1V1S2V2 The usage of the subjunctive The subjunctive normally occurs in the subordinate clause of a two-part sentence (hence the term subjunctive) and generally is preceded by the relator que or an adverb such as cuando, donde, etc. Normally, the main clause has a different subject and verb than the subordinate clause.

S1 V1 S1 V2 The usage of the subjunctive If there is no change of subject, that is, if the subject of the main clause is the same as that of the subordinate clause, the subjunctive is generally not used, especially with verbs of volition, such as querer, and verbs that express emotion. Yo quiero que yo vaya a la fiesta. main clausesubordinate clause Although there are two different verbs there is only one subject.

In these cases only one clause is necessary... SAVINF The usage of the subjunctive If there is no change of subject, that is, if the subject of the main clause is the same as that of the subordinate clause, the subjunctive is generally not used, especially with verbs of volition, such as querer, and verbs that express emotion. Yo quiero ir a la fiesta.... utilizing a subject,auxiliary verb,and infinitive.

1.Cause or prevention. 3.Falseness or unreality. 2.Personal bias or emotion. The usage of the subjunctive The verb or expression in the main clause determines whether to use the subjunctive or the indicative in the subordinate clause. Three simple principles can be applied in almost every case. If the main clause expresses the subjunctive is used in the subordinate clause.

 Benjamín quiere que Antonio ponga la mesa.  Yo insisto en que tú hagas el trabajo.  Prohibimos que los clientes fumen en la oficina. (Notice that que unites the two clauses.) (indicative: pone) (indicative: haces) (indicative: fuman) The usage of the subjunctive 1. Cause or prevention: When the subject in the main clause uses a verb that tends to cause or prevent something in the subordinate clause, the subjunctive is always used in the subordinate clause.

Cause quererinsistirrecomendarmandar pedirpermitiraconsejarobligar necesitarsugerir ser importante, imprescindible, permisible, necesario, innecesario, preferible, mejor, urgente Prevention impedirprohibirno permitir The usage of the subjunctive Following are some common verbs and expressions that might be used to cause or prevent.

 Me alegro de que tú saques buenas notas.  ¡Qué lástima que ellos no sepan su número de teléfono!  Lamento que hayas perdido tu dinero.  Me gusta que Alfredo te ayude. (indicative: sacas) (indicative: saben) (indicative: has perdido) (indicative: ayuda) The usage of the subjunctive 2. Personal bias or emotion: When the verb in the main clause expresses a feeling, emotion, or personal bias, the subjunctive is usually (but not always) used in the subordinate clause.

 No estoy seguro de tener mi pasaporte.  No creo saber la verdad.  Dudo poder pilotear el avión. (No estoy seguro de que yo tenga mi pasaporte.) (No creo que yo sepa la verdad.) (Dudo que yo pueda pilotear el avión.) The usage of the subjunctive But, once more, if there is no change of subject, one clause with an infinitive can be used in many cases.

Truth creerestar segurojurar afirmarconfirmarasegurar ser ciertoser indudableser evidente ser obvioser verdadser (estar) claro Falseness no creernegarno estar seguro dudarno poder creer ser (im)posibleser (im)probable no ser verdadno ser cierto The usage of the subjunctive Following are some common verbs and expressions that express truth or falseness.

E S C A P A en caso de que sin que con tal (de) que antes (de) que para que a menos que (in case) (without, unless) (provided that) (before) (so that, in order that) (unless) The usage of the subjunctive Finally, the subjunctive is always used after the following phrases (and a few other similar ones). When listed in the order shown below, they form the acronym ESCAPA, a useful memory device.

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