The Spanish Subjunctive: Review

The Spanish Subjunctive 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 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)

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.

recordar (o  ue) recuerde recuerdes recuerde recordemos recordéis recuerden perder (e  ie) pierda pierdas pierda perdamos perdáis pierdan Remember, however, that stem changes do not apply to nosotros and vosotros forms. The forms of the subjunctive Stem-changing -ar and -er verbs have the same stem changes as in the present indicative.

-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 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.

1.Cause or prevention. 3.Falseness or unreality. 2.Personal bias or emotion. The usage of the subjunctive 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.

gustaralegrarse (de)apenar asombrarsorprenderentristecer temeresperarsentir ser tristeser una lástimaser maravilloso ser bueno, terrible, horroroso, fantástico, etc. estar alegre, contento, triste, etc. ojalá The usage of the subjunctive Following are some common verbs and expressions that express personal bias or emotion.

 Es verdad que los niños comen demasiado.  Estoy seguro que Alonzo tiene su pasaporte.  No creemos que vaya a nevar mañana.  Mis amigos dudan que yo pueda pilotear el avión.  No hay nadie que sepa la verdad. The usage of the subjunctive 3. Falseness or unreality: If the main clause indicates that something is true or indeed exists, the indicative is used in the subordinate clause. By contrast, if the main clause indicates doubt, falseness or unreality, the subjunctive is used in the subordinate clause.

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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