Spanish LL7
Present Subjunctive
From spanishdict.com: The subjunctive is used to express desires, doubts, the unknown, the abstract, and emotions.
Conjugation:
First, conjugate the verb in the present yo form.
Then, add the proper present subjunctive ending:
For -ar verbs:
yo - e
tú - es
él/ella/usted - e
nosotros - emos
vosotros - éis
ellos/ellas/ustedes - en
For -er / -ir verbs:
yo - a
tú - as
él/ella/usted - a
nosotros - amos
vosotros - áis
ellos/ellas/ustedes - an
Examples:
(tú) venir - vengas
(nosotros) respirar - respiremos
Remember that if the verb has an irregular yo form (such as venir in the example above), you keep that form when conjugating in the subjunctive! Stem changes also remain the same except in the nosotros and vosotros forms for -ir verbs. In nosotros/vosotros, ue --> u and ie --> i. ex. dormir - durmamos / durmáis , sentir - sintamos, sintáis.
Also remember the spelling changes for verbs ending in -car, -gar, -zar.
-car --> -que
-gar --> gue
-zar --> ce
Ex: (él) almorzar --> almorce
Irregular verbs:
hay --> haya
dar estar ir saber ser
yo dé esté vaya sepa sea
tú des estés vayas sepas seas
el/ella/usted dé esté vaya sepa sea
nosotros demos estemos vayamos sepamos seamos
vosotros deis estéis vayáis sepáis seáis
ellos/ellas/ustedes den estén vayan sepan sean
Some expressions always followed by the subjunctive:
Es bueno que... - It’s good that...
Es importante que... - It’s important that...
Es mejor que... - It’s better that...
Es necesario que... - It’s necessary that...
Es malo que... - It’s bad that...
Es urgente que... - It’s urgent that...
Es probable que... - It’s probable that...
Es recomendable que... - It’s recommended that
Example: Es importante que estudie por la prueba. - It’s important that I/he/she/you study for the quiz.
For more: https://www.spanishdict.com/guide/impersonal-expressions-with-the-subjunctive
Now I will be going into verbs that are commonly followed by the subjunctive but before that it is important to understand in what circumstances you would use the subjunctive.
The subjunctive is used when there is more than one subject in a sentence. For example, “I hope that I can go to the party,” would not use the subjunctive since “I” is the subject of both clauses. If you were to say, “I hope that you can go to the party,” it would use the subjunctive since the subject of the second clause is different from the first.
This first set of verbs are called verbs of “will and influence” meaning you use them when you are hoping to influence the actions of others.
aconsejar - to advise
desear - to wish ; to desire
importar - to be important
insistir (en) - to insist (on)
mandar - to order
necesitar - to need
pedir - to ask (for)
preferir - to prefer
prohibir - to prohibit
querer - to want
recomendar - to recommend
rogar - to beg
sugerir - to suggest
Example: Me importa que ustedes vengan a mi fiesta. - It’s important to me that you guys come to my party.
I’ll do another post on the other uses of the subjunctive I’m currently learning another time.
