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SUBJUNTIVO/ SUBJUNCTIVE

The subjunctive mode is used to express conjecture, emotion, uncertainty, subjectivity, influence, doubt, probability, or hypothesis that is yet unknown. Like Spanish, English has a subjunctive mode too. However, many speakers do NOT notice it because most of its forms are identical to the infinitive. There is a difference between the subjunctive and the indicative only in the singular she/he forms.

NOTE that the present indicative of the verb study is studies, but the present subjunctive is study, the form does NOT change spelling.

EXAMPLE

Present Indicative: Did you know that Juan studies every day?/ Sabías que Juan estudia todos los días?

Present Subjunctive: It is necessary that Juan study every day./ Es necesario que Juan estudie todos los días.


HOW TO FORM THE SUBJUNCTIVE MODE:

Regular verbs

To form the present subjunctive, remove the final -o from the first person singular (yo) of the present (indicative mode) and add the following endings:

Pronoun
CComprar / to buy
Vender/ to sell
Recibir / to receive
yo/ I
compre venda reciba
tú/ you
compres vendas recibas
él, ella, Ud./ he, she, you
compre venda reciba
nosotros/ we
compremos vendamos recibamos
vosotros/ you
compréis vendáis recibáis
ellos/ they
compren vendan reciban

 

LESSONS: Labor Market I & Labor Market Ia


IRREGULAR VERBS

a. NOTE that the irregular form in the first person singular (present tense, Subjunctive mode) is maintained throughout the entire conjugation as follows; that is the reason why the present tense is used instead of the infinitive form.

Infinitive
Conjugated
Conducir/ to drive conduzca, conduzcas, conduzca, conduzcamos, conduzcáis, conduzcan
Conocer/ to know conozca, conozcas, conozca, conozcamos, conozcáis, conozcan
Traducir/ to translate traduzca, traduzcas, traduzca, traduzcamos, traduzcáis, traduzcan
   
Hacer/ to do, make haga, hagas, haga, hagamos, hagáis, hagan
Poner/ to put, place ponga, pongas, ponga, pongamos, pongáis, pongan
Salir/ to go out salga, salgas, salga, salgamos, salgáis, salgan
Traer/ to bring traiga, traigas, traiga, traigamos, traigáis, traigan
   
Oír/ to hear oiga, oigas, oiga, oigamos, oigáis, oigan
Ver/ to see vea, veas, vea, veamos, veáis, vean

 


b. Stem-changing verbs that end in -ir and have a diphthong ( e:ie, o:ue) have an additional change (e:i, o:u) in nosotros and vosotros forms (NOTE that in the present of the indicative mode, they do NOT change)

Pronoun
Sentir/ to feel
Dormir/ to sleep
yo/ I
sienta duerma
tú/ you
sientas duermes
él, ella, Ud./ he, she, you
sienta duerma
nosotros/ we
sintamos durmamos
vosotros/ you
sintáis durmáis
ellos/ they
sientan duerman

LESSONS: Labor Market II & Labor Market IIa


c. The following are irregular verbs in the present subjunctive:

Infinitive
Conjugated
Saber/ to know sepa, sepas, sepa, sepamos, sepáis, sepan
Ser/ to be sea, seas, sea, seamos, seáis, sean
Ir/ to go vaya, vayas, vaya, vayamos, vayáis, vayan
   
Haber/ to have (auxiliary) haya, hayas, haya, hayamos, hayáis, hayan
Dar/ to give dé, des, dé, demos, deis, den
Estar/ to be esté, estés, esté, estemos, estéis, estén

LESSONS: Labor Market III & Labor Market IIIa


d. Verbs that end in -car, -gar, and -zar have spelling change in the subjunctive to maintain the original sound of the consonant as follows:

Pronoun
Cbuscar / to look for (c:qu)
llegar/ to arrive (g:gu)
cruzar / to cross (z:c)
yo/ I
busque llegue cruce
tú/ you
busques llegues cruces
él, ella, Ud./ he, she, you
busque llegue cruce
nosotros/ we
busquemos lleguemos crucemos
vosotros/ you
busquéis lleguéis crucéis
ellos/ they
busquen lleguen crucen

 


e. Stem-changing verbs that end in -ar and -er have the same changes in the subjunctive mode as in the present indicative. NOTE that stems do NOT change in nosotros and vosotros.

Pronoun
Cpensar / to think
volver/ to come back
yo/ I
piense vuelva
tú/ you
pienses vuelvas
él, ella, Ud./ he, she, you
peinse vuelva
nosotros/ we
pensemos volvamos
vosotros/ you
penséis volváis
ellos/ they
piensen vuelvan

 


f. Stem-changing verbs that end in -ir and have e:i change in the entire conjugation as follows:

Infinitive
Conjugated
Pedir/ to ask pida, pidas, pida, pidamos, pidáis, pidan

LESSONS: Labor Market IV & Labor Market IVa


USES OF THE SUBJUNCTIVE

1. Except for its use in the main clauses to express commands, the Spanish subjunctive is used in a sentence that has at least 2 clauses, a main and a subordinate or dependent clause. The verb in the main clause determines the use of subjunctive or indicative mode in the subordinate clause. The most common conjunction used to join the two clauses is que (that).

EXAMPLES

  • Espero que cambiemos el proveedor./ I hope (that) we switch supplier.
  • El gerente duda que podamos cambiarlo./ The manager doubts (that) we can switch him.

2. Generally the subjects of the main clause and the dependant clauses are different. However, if the subject of both clauses is the same, the infinitive is used instead of the subjunctive.

EXAMPLES

    • El presidente espera que nosotros vayamos./ The president hopes that we go.
    • El presidente espera ir./ The president hopes to go.

LESSONS: Labor Market V & Labor Market Va

 

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