The Subjunctive Mood
Spanish 104
What is the Subjunctive Mood?
In Spanish there are three moods namely:
Indicative, Imperative, and Subjunctive. We
have learned the rst two previously.
The indicative mood is a verb form that
makes a statement or asks a question.
The imperative mood is the verb form used to
make a command or a request.
The subjunctive mood is for expressing
wishes, suggestions, or desires, and is usually
indicated by an indicative verb such as wish or
suggest
fi
Conjugation (present tense)
SUBJECT HABLAR TENER VIVIR
yo hable tenga viva
tú hables tengas vivas
usted, él, hable tenga viva
ella
nosotros hablemos tengamos vivamos
vosotros habléis tengáis viváis
ustedes, hablen tengan vivan
ellos, ellas
Some irregular verbs
Present Subjunctive Conjugations of Dar, Estar, and Ser
SUBJECT DAR ESTAR SER
yo dé esté sea
tú des estés seas
usted, él, ella dé esté sea
nosotros demos estemos seamos
vosotros deis estéis seáis
ustedes, ellos,
ellas
den estén sean
Present Subjunctive Conjugations of
Haber, Ir, and Saber
SUBJECT HABER IR SABER
yo haya vaya sepa
tú hayas vayas sepas
usted, él, haya vaya sepa
ella
nosotros hayamos vayamos sepamos
vosotros hayáis vayáis sepáis
ustedes, hayan vayan sepan
ellos, ellas
Emotions and Reaction
The subjunctive is used after expressions of emotion and reactions to
something. Remember that the subjunctive is found in the subordinate
clause of sentences that contain a change of subject from the main clause
to the subordinate clause. A very common structure that triggers the
subjunctive is es + adjective + que expressing opinions. Here is a list of
common expressions of emotion with which the subjunctive is found in the
subordinate clause
The expressions es cierto que, it is true that, es obvio que, it is obvious that, es
verdad que, it is true that, and es evidente que, it is evident that are exceptions since
they are followed by the indicative and not by the subjunctive.
me gusta que I like that
es fundamental it is key that
que
me molesta que it annoys me that sentir que to be sorry
that
me encanta que I am delighted es bueno que it is good that
that
me sorprende I am surprised es inútil que it is useless
que that that
es bonito que it is nice that temer que to fear that
es importante it is important es urgente que it is urgent
que that that
es triste que it is sad that tener miedo de to fear that
que
es justo que it is fair that es absurdo que it is absurd
that
:
Negative Opinions and Doub
The subjunctive occurs in dependent clauses
introduced by verbs and expressions of doubt
or negative opinions whenever there are two
different subjects in the two clauses linked by
the subordinating conjunction que. Here is a list
of common expressions of negative opinion and
doubt with which the subjunctive is found in the
subordinate clause
no creer que to not believe that …
no pensar que to not think that …
dudar que to doubt that …
no opinar que to not think that …
no me/te/le/nos/les it doesn’t seem to me/you/
parece que him that…
Remember that such expressions of opinion, when used
in af rmative statements, are followed by the indicative
fi
:
Conjunctions with Subjunctiv
When the following conjunctions introduce a subordinate
clause with a new subject, they always trigger the
subjunctive. Remember that the subjects of the
subordinate clause and of the main clause are different
para que so that
sin que without
a menos que unless that
con tal de que provided that
antes de que before that
a n de que in order that
quizás maybe/perhaps
ojalá hopefully
tal vez maybe
fi
e
Time expressions
They also require the subjunctive, when they refer to a
future event
cuando when
hasta que until
en cuanto que as soon as
tan pronto como as soon as
después de que after
.
Si (If) Clauses
The subjunctive is also used in some
hypothetical clauses with si (if) along
with the conditional or the past
conditional
Si hubiera ahorrado más, ahora
tendría más dinero.
If I had saved more, now I would have
had more money
.
