Spanish Subjunctive Mood: Present Subjunctive

• The Spanish subjunctive mood expresses subjectivity, uncertainty, doubt, desire, emotion, necessity, or possibility.
• The subjunctive mood is typically found in subordinate clauses.
• The subjunctive mood is triggered by specific verbs or expressions in the main clause.
• The present subjunctive is used for actions happening in the present or future.

Formation of the Present Subjunctive

• Start with the yo form of the present indicative.
• Drop the -o ending.
• Add the opposite ending.
• -ar verbs take -e, -es, -e, -emos, -éis, -en endings.
• -er and -ir verbs take -a, -as, -a, -amos, -áis, -an endings.

Regular Verb Conjugation

• hablar: hable, hables, hable, hablemos, habléis, hablen
• comer: coma, comas, coma, comamos, comáis, coman
• vivir: viva, vivas, viva, vivamos, viváis, vivan

Irregular Verb Conjugation

• Some verbs have irregular yo forms in the present indicative, which affect the present subjunctive.
• tener (tengo): tenga, tengas, tenga, tengamos, tengáis, tengan
• hacer (hago): haga, hagas, haga, hagamos, hagáis, hagan
• decir (digo): diga, digas, diga, digamos, digáis, digan
• venir (vengo): venga, vengas, venga, vengamos, vengáis, vengan
• oír (oigo): oiga, oigas, oiga, oigamos, oigáis, oigan

Stem-Changing Verbs

• Stem-changing verbs in the present indicative also have stem changes in the present subjunctive, but only in the same forms.
• -ar and -er verbs: e > ie stem change
• pensar (e > ie): piense, pienses, piense, pensemos, penséis, piensen
• volver (o > ue): vuelva, vuelvas, vuelva, volvamos, volváis, vuelvan
• -ir verbs: e > ie, e > i, and o > ue stem changes
• sentir (e > ie): sienta, sientas, sienta, sintamos, sintáis, sientan
• pedir (e > i): pida, pidas, pida, pidamos, pidáis, pidan
• dormir (o > ue): duerma, duermas, duerma, durmamos, durmáis, duerman

Verbs with Spelling Changes

• Verbs ending in -car, -gar, -zar, and -ger/-gir have spelling changes to maintain pronunciation.
• buscar (-car): busque, busques, busque, busquemos, busquéis, busquen
• llegar (-gar): llegue, llegues, llegue, lleguemos, lleguéis, lleguen
• empezar (-zar): empiece, empieces, empiece, empecemos, empecéis, empiecen
• escoger (-ger): escoja, escojas, escoja, escojamos, escojáis, escojan

Irregular Subjunctive Forms

• ser: sea, seas, sea, seamos, seáis, sean
• ir: vaya, vayas, vaya, vayamos, vayáis, vayan
• saber: sepa, sepas, sepa, sepamos, sepáis, sepan
• haber: haya, hayas, haya, hayamos, hayáis, hayan
• estar: esté, estés, esté, estemos, estéis, estén
• dar: dé, des, dé, demos, deis, den

Uses of the Present Subjunctive

• The subjunctive is used in subordinate clauses when the main clause expresses doubt, desire, emotion, impersonal expressions, requests, or recommendations.

Verbs of Will and Influence

• Verbs like querer (to want), desear (to desire), insistir en (to insist), mandar (to order), necesitar (to need), permitir (to permit), prohibir (to prohibit), preferir (to prefer), recomendar (to recommend), and sugerir (to suggest) require the subjunctive in the subordinate clause.

Verbs of Emotion

• Verbs and expressions of emotion such as alegrarse de (to be happy), enojarse (to be angry), sentir (to regret), temer (to fear), es una lástima (it's a shame), and esperar (to hope) trigger the subjunctive.
• Espero que tengas un buen día. (I hope you have a good day.)

Verbs of Doubt, Disbelief, and Denial

• Verbs like dudar (to doubt), negar (to deny), no creer (not to believe), no pensar (not to think), and no estar seguro de (not to be sure) often require the subjunctive.
• If these verbs are used in the affirmative, they generally take the indicative, unless the situation implies uncertainty.
• Creo que ella viene. (I think she is coming - indicative shows certainty)
• No creo que ella venga. (I don't think she is coming - subjunctive expresses doubt)

Impersonal Expressions

• Impersonal expressions that express opinions, possibilities, or necessity often trigger the subjunctive.
• es importante que (it's important that)
• es necesario que (it's necessary that)
• es posible que (it's possible that)
• es probable que (it's probable that)
• es bueno que (it's good that)
• es malo que (it's bad that)
• es mejor que (it's better that)

Conjunctions That Always Require the Subjunctive

• a menos que (unless)
• antes (de) que (before)
• con tal (de) que (provided that)
• en caso (de) que (in case)
• para que (so that, in order that)
• sin que (without)

Conjunctions That Sometimes Require the Subjunctive

• These conjunctions require the subjunctive when they refer to future or uncertain actions.
• cuando (when)
• después de que (after)
• en cuanto (as soon as)
• hasta que (until)
• tan pronto como (as soon as)
• mientras que (while)
• si (if)

Using Subjunctive with "si" Clauses

• "Si" clauses that express hypothetical or contrary-to-fact situations use the subjunctive.
• Si tuviera dinero, viajaría por el mundo. (If I had money, I would travel the world.)

Subjunctive in Relative Clauses

• The subjunctive is used in relative clauses when the antecedent is uncertain, nonexistent, or indefinite.
• Busco un libro que tenga información sobre la historia de España. (I'm looking for a book that has information about the history of Spain.)
• The subjunctive expresses uncertainty about whether such a book exists.

Ojalá

• Ojalá (I hope, if only) always takes the subjunctive.
• Ojalá que tengas suerte. (I hope you have luck.)

Expressions of Doubt and Uncertainty

• The present subjunctive is often used with expressions indicating doubt, uncertainty, or disbelief.
• Quizás (maybe), tal vez (perhaps), posiblemente (possibly), and puede ser (it may be) often trigger the subjunctive.
• Quizás venga mañana. (Maybe he/she will come tomorrow.)

Recommendations and Suggestions

• When offering recommendations or suggestions using verbs of influence, the subjunctive is used to express the subjective nature of the advice.
• Te sugiero que estudies más. (I suggest that you study more.)

Formal Commands (Usted/Ustedes Forms)

• The subjunctive mood is used to form formal commands (usted and ustedes).
• Señor, espere aquí. (Sir, wait here - informal command: espera)
• Señor, espere aquí. (Sir, wait here - formal command: espere)

Learn about the Spanish subjunctive mood, which expresses subjectivity, uncertainty, or emotion. This lesson covers the formation of the present subjunctive, including regular and irregular verb conjugations. Understand how to use the subjunctive in subordinate clauses.