Formation of the SubjunctiveChapter 3

Indicative Tense v. Subjunctive Mood What does the

Indicative depend on?

Factual information

Certainty

Objectivity

What does the Subjunctive depend on?

Some sort of doubt

An emotion

Imposing Will

Two subjects

I want you to do....

W.E.D.D.I.N.G W-Wishing, willing, E- Emotion (normally reflexive verbs) D- Doubt D- Denial, negation I- Impersonal Expression- expresses

influence N- Need (Requesting, asking,

demanding, commanding, causing) G- God~ Ojalá que (I hope that…/ may

God grant you...)

Let’s go way back!

Remember the Present tense endings?

Er/ir

yo e Emos/imos

Nosotros

tú es Éis, is

Vosotros

Él, ella, ud.

e en Ellos, ellas, ustedes

Ar

yo a amos Nosotros

tú as áis Vosotros

Él, ella, ud.

a an Ellos, ellas, ustedes

The creation Follow the same way we make usted

commands

Take the yo

Drop the o

Add the opposite endings (present tense)

Ar verbs- e endings

Er/Ir verbs- a endings

Ar Verbs

Hablaryo Hable Hablemos Nosotros

tú Hables Habléis Vosotros

Él, ella, usted

Hable Hablen Ellos, ellas, ustedes

Er/Ir Verbs

Tener/ Escribiryo Tenga/

EscribaTengamos/Escribamos

Nosotros

tú Tengas/Escribas

Tengáis/Escribáis

Vosotros

Él, ella, usted

Tenga/Escribas

Tengan/Escriban

Ellos, ellas, ustedes

Knowing when to use the subjunctiveSet up word + que + different subject

This is how you know when to use the subjunctive

Setup Words

querer (ie) = to want

sugerir (ie) = to suggest

recomendar (ie) = to recommend

insistir en = to insist

esperar = to hope

ojalá que = hopefully / it’s hopeful

These words, used in the first clause of a sentence, set up the use of the subjunctive in the second clause. What is said after these words may or may not happen, so the conjugation of the second verb is not the present tense as you know it.

Irregulars in the SubjunctiveChapter 3

Stem Changers

Pensar- e to ie

Yo Piense Pensemos Nosotros

Tú Pienses Penséis Vosotros

Él, ella, usted

Piense Piensen Ellos, Ellas, ustedes

Poder- o to ue

yo Pueda Podamos Nosotros

Tú Puedas Podáis Vosotros

Él, ella, usted

Pueda Puedan Ellos, Ellas, ustedes

Forming the SubjunctiveIt doesn’t really matter what the “yo” form of the present is. If there is a stem change or other spelling change in it, the change will be seen in the subjunctive. Consider the following.

Present Indicative

me acuesto

digo

me divierto

duermo

entiendo

pongo

prefiero

río

vengo

Present Subjunctive

me acueste

diga

me divierta

duerma

entienda

ponga

prefiera

ría

venga

Infinitive

acostarse (ue)

decir

divertirse (ie)

dormir (ue)

entender (ie)

poner

preferir (ie)

reírse (i)

venir

Forming the Subjunctive-ar and -er stem changing verbs still have no stem change for nosotros and vosotros in the present subjunctive. However, certain -ir verbs do. Note the following.

acostarse (ue)

me acueste

te acuestes

se acueste

nos acostemos

os acostéis

se acuesten

preferir (ie / i)

prefiera

prefieras

prefiera

prefirimos

prefiráis

prefieran

poder (ue)

pueda

puedas

pueda

podamos

podáis

puedan

Forming the SubjunctiveHere are some other -ir stem changing verbs that have changes in the present indicative, present subjunctive, preterite, and present participle.

dormir (ue / u for nosotros & vosotros) = to sleep

morir (ue / u for nosotros & vosotros) = to die

preferir (ie / i for nosotros & vosotros) = to prefer

mentir (ie / i for nosotros & vosotros) = to lie

divertirse (ie, i for the nosotros & vosotros) = to

enjoy oneself

pedir (i / i for nosotros & vosotros) = to ask for

reírse (i / i for nosotros & vosotros) = to laugh

servir (i / i for nosotros & vosotros) = to serve

vestirse (i / i for nosotros & vosotros) = to get

dressed

medir (i / i for nosotros & vosotros) = to measure

Car Gar Zar Car- que

Gar- gue

Zar- ce

Carries through all the pronouns!

Cruzar- cruce, cruces, cruce, crucemos,crucen

Tocar- toque, toques, toque, toquemos, toquen

Jugar- juegue, juegues, juegue, juguemos, jueguen

The irregulars Look familiar to the Usted Commands?

Dar, estar, ir, saber, ser

Dar Estar Ir Saber Ser

Dé Esté Vaya Sepa Sea

Des Estés Vayas Sepas Seas

Dé Esté Vaya Sepa Sea

Demos Estemos Vayamos Sepamos Seamos

Deis Estéis Vayáis Sepáis Seáis

Den Estén Vayan Sepan Sean

Things to remember with the

SubjunctiveChapter 3

Things to Keep in Mind

If there is no subject change, then there is no subjunctive.

I want to go with you. Quiero ir contigo.

I want you to go with me. Quiero que vayas conmigo.

The second example uses the subjunctive because there is a subject change.

I can, I should, I need to, I have to, I want to, I’m going to, etc.

All of these are followed by an infinitive in Spanish if there is no subject change.

Don’t over think this.

Things to Keep in Mind

Using a phrase with “hope” in it can be tricky.

Ellos esperan que tú hagas bien. They hope that you do well. (subjunctive)

Ellos esperan que yo haga bien. They hope that I do well. (subjunctive)

How would you say, “They hope that they do well.”?

There’s no subject change, right? Could the same sentence be said in English, “They hope to do well.”?

They hope that they do well. = Ellos esperan hacer bien. (infinitive)

Things to Keep in MindThere is no future subjunctive.

Again, using esperar (to hope) or ojalá (hopefully) can be tricky.

Ella espera que vengan. She hopes that they (will) come. (subjunctive)

Ojalá que él aprenda. Hopefully he (will) learn. (subjunctive)

Even though in English we would use the future tense, it isn’t used in these cases in Spanish. You can see that the two sentences above have two possible translations. Basically, if everything else tells you that you should use the subjunctive (setup verb / que / subject change) you should use it. But don’t forget...

We hope that we’ll be able to go. Esperamos poder ir. (infinitive)

If there is no subject change, don’t use the subjunctive.

Things to Keep in MindBe careful with “querer”.

As mentioned on previous slides, when a subjunctive sentence that uses “querer” is translated into English, the subjunctive verb is an infinitive. This confuses many students. In fact, it’s probably the #1 mistake that students make with the subjunctive. Note the following.

Quiero que ellos estudien más. I want them to study more.

Queremos que los niños se acuesten ahora. We want the kids to go to bed now.

Things to Keep in MindBe careful with “querer”.

It’s not always wrong to use an infinitive after querer.

Remember: If there is no subject change, there is no subjunctive.

I want to call them. Quiero llamarlos.

She wants to come. Ella quiere venir.

They want to have fun. Ellos quieren divertirse.

We want to laugh. Queremos reírnos