Present
subjunctive
There are two distinct verbal modes, or moods, in Spanish: the
subjunctive and the indicative. In simple, direct speech, one uses
primarily the indicative, e.g. the present
indicative, preterite indicative,
imperfect indicative, etc. Some of
these indicative tenses have their corresponding tenses in the
subjunctive as well, such as the present subjunctive, imperfect subjunctive, present perfect subjunctive,
etc.
Present
Subjunctive — Overview
The present subjunctive forms are what what one uses to form
direct commands. Many of the uses of
the present subjunctive simply turn those direct commands
into indirect commands. There is nothing inherently
difficult about the use of the subjunctive as long as the following
principles are observed. The vast majority of the instances in
which the present subjunctive is used conform to the following
three basic criteria:
1. A complex
sentence. There are three basic types of sentences: a simple
sentence, a compound sentence, and a complex sentence. The
subjunctive usually appears in the subordinate clause of a complex
sentence.
- A simple sentence has a subject and a verb: El habla
con su amigo por teléfono.
- A compound sentence has one or more simple sentences,
joined by a conjunction:
Él habla con su amigo en el teléfono y su
amiga prepara sus lecciones.
- A complex sentence consists of a main clause, or a
simple sentence, and a subordinate clause. These are also called,
respectively, an independent clause and a dependent clause, the
latter depending on the former for full grammatical sense.
Él espera que su amiga prepare sus
lecciones.
2. A change of
subject. For the subjunctive to occur in the dependent, or
subordinate, clause of a complex sentence there is almost always a
change of subject from one clause to the next.
- Yo quiero que tú me
acompañes. (I — you)
- Ella duda que él haya estudiado.
(she — he)
- Nosotros sentimos mucho que ustedes tengan que
quedarse. (we — you)
3. An appropriate verb or condition. The verb in the main
clause of the complex sentence will express (a) will or obligation,
(b) doubt, uncertainty or futurity, or (c) emotion.
- Es necesario que regreses. (It is necessary
that you return.)
- No es cierto que mejore el tiempo. (It is not
certain that the weather will improve.)
- Siento mucho que tengas un resfriado. (I am
very sorry that you have a cold.)
Present subjunctive
– Formation
Nearly all verbs in Spanish, including most irregular verbs,
stem-changing verbs, and other verbs with spelling changes, form
their subjunctive stem from the first person singular of the
present indicative. To form the present subjunctive the -o
of the first person singular of the present indicative is dropped,
and the following subjunctive endings are added in its place:
-AR verbs
-ER verbs
-IR verbs
- Examples of -ar, -er and -ir verbs
conjugated in subordinate clauses:
Hablar
- ...que yo hable
- ...que tú hables
- ...que usted hable
- ...que nosotros/as hablemos
- ...que vosotros/as habléis
- ...que ustedes hablen
Comer
- ...que yo coma
- ...que tú comas
- ...que usted coma
- ...que nostros/as comamos
- ...que vosotros/as comáis
- ...que coman
Vivir
- ...que yo viva
- ...que tú vivas
- ...que usted viva
- ...que nosotros/as vivamos
- ...que vosotros/as viváis
- ...que vivan
Several verbs — which happen to be quite commonly used, like
ser, estar, haber, saber, and ir
– are irregular in the present subjunctive. The following is a
complete list of the truly irregular verbs in the present
subjunctive:
- dar –dé, des, dé, demos, deis,
den
- estar — esté, estés, esté,
estemos, estéis, estén
- haber — haya, hayas, haya, hayamos, hayáis,
hayan
- ir — vaya, vayas, vaya, vayamos, vayáis,
vayan
- saber –sepa, sepas, sepa, sepamos, sepáis,
sepan
- ser — sea, seas, sea, seamos, seáis,
sean
- ver — vea, veas, vea, veamos, veáis, vean
Present subjunctive –
Uses
The subjunctive is a mood, which means that it serves to express
the attitude or impression of the speaker. Frequently, statements
in the subjunctive indicate (1) will and obligation, (2) doubt,
uncertainty, and futurity, and (3) emotion.
Will, doubt, and emotion.
Many introductory statements, expressions of doubt, emotion, or
obligation, precede verbs in the subjunctive. The list of verbs and
impersonal expressions usually followed by the subjunctive is quite
long, and includes (but is not limited to) the following:
Will and obligation
- Querer
- Pedir
- Exigir
- Preferir
- Recomendar
- Prohibir
- Es importante
- Es necesario
- Es urgente
Doubt and uncertainty
- Dudar
- Negar
- Es posible
- Es probable
- No es seguro
- No es cierto
- Es dudoso
- No es verdad
- No creer
Emotion
- Sentir
- Estar triste
- Alegrarse
- Temer
- Tener miedo
- Estar contento(a)
- Sorprenderse
- Esperar
- Es una lástima
Will and obligation
- Ella quiere que paguemos la cuenta. (She wants
us to pay the bill.)
- Te recomiendo que hables con un médico.
(I recommend you talk to a doctor.)
- Les prohibo que entren.* (I won't allow you to
enter.)
At times a sentence that begins with
Que... followed by the subjunctive denotes an implied
command, subordinate to an unexpressed main clause.
- Que lo haga Jorge. (Have Jorge do it. Short,
perhaps, for "Quiero que lo haga Jorge " or
"Espero que lo haga Jorge.")
Doubt and uncertainty
- Dudo que hayan servido el vino. (I doubt that
they've served the wine.)
- Es posible que no llueva
hoy. (It's possible that it won't rain
today.)
- No creo que lleguen mañana. (I don't
believe they will arrive tomorrow.)
But:
- Creo que llegan mañana. (I believe
they're coming tomorrow.)
The words
tal vez or quizá(s), meaning "perhaps," imply
uncertainty and usually precede the subjunctive.
- Tal vez haya un incendio. (Perhaps there's a
fire.)
- Quizás ganemos la lotería algún
día. (Maybe we'll win the lottery one day.)
Emotion
- Siento mucho que tengas que pagar la multa. (I
am very sorry you have to pay the fine.)
- Tienen miedo de que el presidente vote a favor.
(They fear that the president will vote in favor.)
- Esperamos que no haga mal tiempo.** (We hope
there won't be bad weather.)
The word
ojalá (que), which derives from the Arabic word that
means Allah willing, expresses strong emotion and also
introduces the subjunctive.
- Ojalá que salgamos bien en el examen.
- Ojalá no cueste demasiado.
*Note that there is a class of verbs that often makes use of
the infinitive instead of the subjunctive in constructions such as
these. Causative verbs like hacer,
mandar, dejar, prohibir, and permitir allow, or
even prefer, an alternative syntax such as those expressed in
parentheses: Me hacen que toque la flauta (Me hacen tocar
la flauta); Les dejo que vayan a la playa (Les dejo
ir a la playa); etc.
* *Note also that if there is no change of
subject from one clause to the next an infinitive construction is
generally preferred:
- Queremos ver la película.
(We want to see the movie.)
- Es posible tener mala suerte.
(It's possible to have bad luck.)
- Esperamos comprarlo a buen
precio. (We hope to buy it at a good price.)
Adjective
clauses and the subjunctive
In all of the cases above the subjunctive occurs in a dependent
clause, which in these cases happen to be noun clauses. An
adjective clause can also follow an independent clause. If
the antecedent (that to which the clause refers) is either negative
or indefinite, the verb in the dependent clause will be in the
subjunctive. For instance:
- Busco un apartamento que tenga dos alcobas. (Here
the subjunctive is used because the exact identity of the house is
uncertain. Compare this to Tengo un apartamento que tiene
dos alcobas. In this case there is nothing uncertain about the
apartment's identity.)
- ¿Conoces a alguien que sepa hablar ruso?
(Here the subjunctive is used because the exact the existence of
the person who might speak Russian is uncertain. Compare
this to Sí, conozco a alguien que sabe hablar
ruso. In this case there is nothing uncertain about the
person's existence.)
- No hay nada aquí que sea interesante.
(Here the subjunctive is used because the antecedent is negative.
Compare this to Hay algo aquí que es
interesante. Again, in this declarative statement the reference
is to something that exists.)
Adverbial
clauses
As a part of speech, the adverb answers the questions how,
when, or where. A dependent clause can also function as
an adverb when it is introduced by an appropriate conjunction.
When certain conjunctions introduce a dependent clause the
subjunctive always follows. By their very nature these
conjunctions refer to something uncertain, contingent, or in the
future. These conjunctions are a menos que, antes (de) que, con
tal (de) que, en caso de que, para que, and sin
que.
- Vamos al cine a menos que prefieras ir a cenar.
(...unless you prefer clearly places this clause in the
category of uncertain)
- En caso de que llame a la puerta, dígale que
no estoy en casa. (...in case you knock projects the
listener to the future)
- Salgo sin que me vean. (...without their
seeing refers to something that hasn't happened)
Certain other conjunctions may introduce the subjunctive
as well, but only if they express doubt, uncertainty, or futurity.
Some examples are aunque, cuando, en cuanto, tan pronto como, de
modo que, de manera que, hasta que, después (de) que,
etc.
- Hablo mi amigo cuando venga mañana. (The
dependent clause remains in the future relative to the main clause.
Therefore, the subjunctive follows.)
- Vamos a esquiar aunque no nieve. (Here the
subjunctive is used to express that the speaker intends to go
skiing, even though it doesn't snow sometime in the future.)
But...
- Siempre hablo con mi amigo cuando viene a verme.
(The indicative is used here because it refers primarily to a
habitual, repeated past action.
- Vamos a tomar el sol aunque hace frío.
(Here the indicative is used to express that although it is cold,
right now, the speaker wants to spend some time
outside.)
Set expressions,
commands
Certain expressions find the subjunctive in the main
clause:
- ¡Viva el Rey! (Long live the king!)
- Dios le bendiga. (May God bless you.)
See also
Imperfect subjunctive
Compound verbs
Verbs