Chapter 10 - The Subjunctive Mood (Desires and Hopes); Possessive Pronouns; Hace/Hacia; Por vs. Para

Question 1

What is the subjunctive mood?

Answer 1

As a mood (as opposed to a tense), the subjunctive allows a speaker to

1. Express a variety of subjective nuances, such as hopes, wishes, desires, doubts, and opinions.
2. To express unknown or hypothetical situations.

Question 2

What is the difference between a “tense” and a “mood”?

Answer 2

A verb tense is a form of a verb that indicates when an action took place, is taking place, or will take place. The present indicative, the present progressive, the preterite, and the imperfect are all verb tenses (the preterite and imperfect are different aspects of the same past tense).

A verb mood refers to a verb form that expresses attitudes toward actions and events. For instance, the “indicative” mood is used to make statements which “indicate” objective, factual, or real information. The “imperative” mood is used to express a “demand.”

Question 3

Does the subjunctive have tenses?

Answer 3

Yes. Like the indicative, the subjunctive has tenses.

The present subjunctive, like the present indicative, expresses what happens regularly, what is happening now, and what is about to happen. The difference is that the present subjunctive views these present-tense events through a subjective, emotional, or contrary-to-fact filter.

Question 4

How do you form a present subjunctive construction?

Answer 4

Person 1 + indicative verb + que + Person 2 + subjunctive verb.

Adela quiere que David venga a la fiesta. 
Adela wants (that) David come to the party.

Question 5

How do you form a subjunctive verb?

Answer 5

Take the present indicative “yo” form of the verb, delete the “o”, and add the subjunctive endings. Using the “yo” form of the present indicative verb assures that any irregularities (such as stem changes) are automatically carried over into the present subjunctive forms.

Question 6

What are the stem endings to a present subjunctive -AR verb?

Answer 6

e
es
e

emos
éis
en

_____

hable
hables
hable

hablemos
habléis
hablen

Question 7

What are the stem endings to a present subjunctive -ER and -IR verbs?

Answer 7

a
as
a

amos
áis
an

______

coma
comas
coma

comamos
comáis
coman

escriba
escribas
escriba

escribamos
escribáis
escriban

Question 8

Does the present indicative stem change behavior carry over into all forms of the present subjunctive?

Answer 8

No.

In -ir present indicative stem changing verbs, all forms of the present subjunctive are changed:

pedir -> (yo) pido -> (yo subj) pida

pida
pidas
pida
pidamos
pidáis
pidan

But, in present subjunctive -ar and -er stem changing verbs, the stem changes follow the same rules as the present indicative (ie: they do not stem change in the nosotros or vosotros forms; “the boot”)

poder -> puedo -> pueda

pueda
puedas
pueda
*podamos
*podáis
puedan

Question 9

What is unique about the present subjunctive stem changes of “dormir” and “morir”?

Answer 9

In addition to having a stem change in all forms, they reflect an additional o -> u stem change in the nos. and vos. forms:

dormir:
duerma
duermas
duerma

*durmamos
*durmáis
duerman

morir:
muera
mueras
muera

*muramos
*muráis
mueran

Question 10

What spelling changes need to be accounted for when conjugating to the present subjunctive?

Answer 10

c -> qu
g -> gu
z -> c

buscar: 
busque 
busques 
busque
busquemos
busquéis
busquen

llegar: 
llegue 
llegues
llegue
lleguemos
lleguéis
lleguen

comenzar: 
comience
comiences
comience
comencemos 
comencéis
comencen

Question 11

Conjugate the present subjunctive of the verb dar:

Answer 11

dar:

dé
des
dé

demos
deis
den

Question 12

Conjugate the present subjunctive of the verb estar:

Answer 12

estar:

esté
estés
esté

estemos
estéis
estén

Question 13

Conjugate the present subjunctive of the verb ir:

Answer 13

ir:

vaya
vayas
vaya

vayamos
vayáis
vayan

Question 14

Conjugate the present subjunctive of the verb saber:

Answer 14

saber:

sepa
sepas
sepa
sepamos
sepáis
sepan

Question 15

Conjugate the present subjunctive of the verb ser:

Answer 15

ser:

sea
seas
sea
seamos
seáis
sean

Question 16

What is a “stressed possessive”?

Answer 16

In Spanish, there are pronouns to express possession (mi, tu, su, etc), and there are words to specifically emphasize possession in a sentence. That is, the construction is literally purposed to clarify the possession of a certain thing.

Es mi casa.
It’s my house.
Es la casa mía.
It’s my house.

¡La casa es mía!
The house is mine!

La casa es mía, no suya.
The house is mine, not yours.

Question 17

What to remember about stressed possessive pronouns:

Answer 17

1. They must agree in number and gender with the noun they are claiming possession over.

un libro mío; la calculadora mía

2. When used as adjectives, they come after the noun. The noun may also be dropped altogether if context allows.

Es el coche mío.
¿De quien es el coche? - Es mío.

3. When used as pronouns, they replace the noun the possession is referred to.

Le gusta el coche mío. = Le gusta el mío.

Question 18

What are the stressed possessive pronouns?

Answer 18

Mío, mía, míos, mías
tuyo, tuya, tuyos, tuyas
suyo, suya, suyos, suyas

nuestro, nuestra, nuestros, nuestras
vuestro, vuestra, vuestros, vuestras
suyo, suya, suyos, suyas

Question 19

What are hace and hacía used for in Spanish?

Answer 19

Hace and hacía are used to talk about ongoing actions and their duration. They can also be used to say how long it has been since someone has done something or since something has occurred.

Question 20

Using hace:

how do you express an action that has been occurring over a period of time and is still going on?

Answer 20

1. To express an action that has been occurring over a period of time and is still going on:

hace + period of time + que + present indicative

Hace tres años que vivimos en este barrio.

We’ve been living in this neighborhood for three years.

Question 21

Using hace: how do you say how long it has been since you have done something?

Answer 21

To say how long it has been since you have done something:

hace + period of time + que + no + present indicative

Hace seis meses que no salimos de la ciudad.

We haven’t left the city in six months.

Question 22

Using hace: how do you express how long ago an event took place?

Answer 22

To express how long ago an event took place:

preterite + hace + period of time

Vine aquí hace tres años.

I came here three years ago.

Question 23

Using hacía: how do you say how long an action had been going on in the past before a more recent past event?

Answer 23

To say how long an action had been going on in the past before a more recent past event:

hacía + period of time + que + imperfect

Cuando nos mundamos a esta nueva, hacía cinco años que vivíamos en ese apartamento.

When we moved to this new house, we had been living in that apartment for five years.

Question 24

Using hace to ask a question: how do you ask how long an action or event has been going on?

Answer 24

To ask how long an action or event has been going on:

hace + present indicative

¿Cuánto tiempo hace que vives aquí?

How long have you been living here?

Question 25

Using hace to ask a question: how do you ask how long it has been since an action or event last occurred?

Answer 25

To ask how long it has been since an action or event last occurred:

hace + no + present

¿Cuánto tiempo hace que no hablas con tus abuelos?

How long has it been since you’ve spoken with your grandparents?

Question 26

Using hace to ask a question: how do you ask how long ago an action took place?

Answer 26

To ask how long ago an action took place:

hace + preterite

¿Cuánto tiempo hace que hablaste con tus abuelos?

How long ago did you speak to your grandparents?

Question 27

Using hacía to ask a question: how do you ask how long an action or event had been going on in the past?

Answer 27

To ask how long an action or event had been going on in the past:

hacía + imperfect

¿Cuánto tiempo hacía que no podías ir a las clases cuando decidiste ir al médico?

How long had you not been able to go to classes when you decided to go to the doctor?

Question 28

How should you us “por” in Spanish?

Answer 28

1. To describe the method by which an action is carried out:

Viajamos por avión.
Hablamos por teléfono.
Nos comunicamos por internet.

2. To give a cause or a reason for something.

Miguel está preocupado por su salud.
Elena está nervioso por el examen.

3. To give a time of day:

Vamos al café por la tarde.
Por las noches, comemos en casa.

4. To describe motion through or around a place:

Pasamos por la playa todas las mañanas.
Vas por el centro de la ciudad y luego doblas a la izquierda.

5. To express the idea of an exchange

Pagué doce dólares por el espejo.
¡Gracias por todo!

6. To say that something was done on behalf of someone else:

Lo hice por mi hermano porque estaba enfermo.
Puedo hablar por ellos.

7. To express units of measurement:

Venden las naranjas por kilo.

8. To express duration of time:

Estuvimos en el restaurante por dos horas.
Fuimos a Bolivia por tres semanas.

9. In certain fixed expressions:

por ejemplo - for example
por eso - so; that's why; for this reason
por favor - please
por fin - finally
por lo menos - at least
por supuesto - of course

Question 29

How should you us “para” in Spanish?

Answer 29

1. To indicate destination:

Salimos para un parque en las afueras y nos perdimos.

2. To indicate a recipient of an object or action:

El cuadro es para Angelica.
Limpié la casa para mis padres.

3. To indicate a deadline or specific time in the future:

Hicimos reservaciones en el restaurante para la próxima semana.
Tengo que escribir un informe para la próxima semana.

4. To express intent or purpose:

Estas lámparas son para la sala.
Vinieron temprano para limpiar la casa.

5. To indicate an employer:

Trabajo para la universidad.

6. To make a comparison or state an opinion:

Para estudiante, tiene mucho dinero.
Para mí, la sopa de ajo es la mejor de todas.

Question 30

Some common English renderings of “por”:

Answer 30

• (in exchange) for
• during, in
• through, along
• on behalf of
• for (duration of an event)
• by (transportation)

Question 31

Some common English renderings of “para”:

Answer 31

• for (deadline)
• toward, in the direction of
• for (recipient or purpose)
• in order to + verb
• for… (in comparison with others)
• (I work) for (this employer)