El Subjuntivo

The subjunctive mood: expressing subjective reactions to the actions of others

IndicativeThe verb tenses you have learned so far:

Present (incl. the “–ing” form, ir+a+inf future)Past (the preterite and the imperfect)

The indicative is used for stating facts, communicating knowledge, or asking questions:

Quiero conocer a Jaime.¿Qué comiste esta mañana?

The subjunctive mood: expressing subjective reactions to the actions of others

Subjunctive mood Used to convey one speaker’s wishes,

attitudes, hopes, fears, doubts, uncertainties, and other personal reactions to the events and actions of others.

Quiero que (tú) conozcas a Jaime.

Espero que (él) esté en casa.

Me alegro de que (ustedes) vengan temprano a conocerlo.

The subjunctive is needed when we want to express a WEIRDO:

The subjunctive mood

Formation of the subjunctive mood Start with the Yo form in the present tense Drop the “o” ending add the opposite endings:

▪ -Ar adds –Er/-Ir endings; -Er/-Ir adds –Ar endings

1) Hablar ---> Hablo

2) Drop the "o"

3) --->  Habl-

4) Add the opposite ending: `e'  (in other words, an ending we would expect to see on an Ir or Er  verb)

5) ---> Hable [subjunctive!]

•We take the first person singular "Yo " form of the verb (we'll use Hablar):

The subjunctive mood

If a verb is irregular in the present tense Yo formSo are the subjunctive forms for all conjugations (yo, tú, él, ella, Ud., etc).conocer conozco

conozca, conozcas,…

decir digø diga, digas,…

hacer hagø haga, hagas,…

poner pongø ponga, pongas,…

salir salgø salga, salgas,…

tener tengø tenga, tengas,…

traer traigø traiga, traigas,…

venir vengø venga, vengas,…

The subjunctive and stem-changers

Stem-changing -ar and -er verbs follow the same pattern in the present subjunctive as the present tense yo form.

Stem changes occur in all forms except nosotros (No for Nosotros)

pensar (eie) volver (o ue)piensepensemos

pienses

piensepiensen

vuelvavolvamos

vuelvas

vuelvavuelvan

The subjunctive and Ir stem-changers-Ir verbs follow the pattern of the present tense yo form

but also stem change (ei and o u) in the nosotros form

divertirse (eie, i) pedir (e i, i) dormir (oue, u)me divierta nos divirtamoste diviertas

se divierta se diviertan

pida pidamosPidas

pida pidan

duerma durmamosDuermas

duerma duerman

The Yo forms ending in “Y” , “e” & “é”

Verb Yo form (present

tense) Subjunctive

Ser Soy Sea

Estar Estoy Esté

Dar Doy Dé

Ir Voy Vaya

Saber Sé Sepa

Haber He Haya

The subjunctive with expressions of influence

When you want to express a desire, preference, recommendation, request, or suggestion that someone else do something, use

a verb of preference + que + subjunctive. (Yo) Quiero que (tú) vayas a la fiesta.

Notice that there are two subjects: the person influencing and the person influenced.

Subject 1 Subject 2expression of wish to

influence

-indicative-

action influenced

*subjunctive*++que

The subjunctive with expressions of influence

Verbs that express the wish to influence include:

querer (ie)preferir (ie, i)insistir (en)recomendar (ie)sugerir (ie, i)pedir (i, i)decir (i)

to wantto preferto insist (on)to

recommend

to suggestto requestto tell to do

Quiero que me ayudes.Prefieren que salgamos

ahora.Insisten en que lleguemos a

tiempo.Te recomiendo que lo

llames.Te sugiero que lo invites a la

fiesta.Le pedimos que traiga pan.Te digo que no esperes más.

Modelo: La madre quiere que se acueste.1. La madre quiere que… 4. La madre le sugiere que…2. La madre le pide que… 5. La madre insiste en que…3. La madre le pide que… 6. La madre le dice al perro que…

The subjunctive is used when a speaker expresses emotional reactions and feelings about the actions of another subject (person or thing).

Me alegro de que mi amigo me visite. Esperamos que (él) pueda quedarse

unos díasSubject 1 Subject 2expression of emotion

indicativeaction or condition of another subject

* Subjunctive*

++ Que

The subjunctive and expressions of emotion

The subjunctive and expressions of emotion

alegrarse (de)

esperar

sentir (ie, i)

temer

¡Ojalá que…!

to be glad (about)

to hope, expect

to be sorry, regret

to fear, be afraid

I hope…

Me alegro de que estén comprometidos.Espero que se casen este verano.Siento que vivan tan lejos.

Tememos que no puedan visitarnos.¡Ojalá que me inviten a la boda!