The present subjunctive

Question 1

what is the present subjunctive?

Answer 1

The present subjunctive is a mood not a tense. In other words, it reflects how the speaker feels about the action (indicated by the verb). For example,

Mamá quiere que yo estudie para el examen.

In this example, mamá wants “yo” to study, but we don’t know if “yo” will actually study.

Question 2

What is the difference between

the indicative and the subjuntive, and the imperative moods?

Answer 2

The subjunctive mood is used to talk about desires, doubts, wishes, conjectures, and possibilities.

The indicative mood is used to talk about facts and other statements that are believed to be true and concrete.

There is a third mood: the imperative mood. We use it give commands.

Question 3

What is the difference between mood and tense?

Answer 3

Mood vs. Tense

Grammatical mood reflects a speaker’s attitude toward a statement. Spanish has three moods: the subjunctive, the indicative, and the imperative.

Grammatical tense refers to when an action takes place. Spanish has three tenses: the past, the present, and the future.

Question 4

Negative tú (or usted, ustedes) commands

vs

the present subjunctive

Answer 4

Think about the subjunctive as a longer version of the negative command. The conjugations are the same. You have an advantage that you already know those conjugations. Thus, for this lesson you need to concentrate on the structure of the subjunctive sentence.

Question 5

In case you forgot…..

Answer 5

Here are the conjugations for -ar ending verbs:

yo > -e

tú > -es

ud., él, ella > -e

nosotros, nosotras > -emos

uds., ellos, ellas > -en

Question 6

Present subjuntive conjugations for

-er, -ir ending verbs…

Answer 6

Both infinitives use the same conjugations:

yo > -a

tú > -as

ud., él, ella > -a

nosotros, nosotras > -amos

uds., ellos, ellas > -an

Question 7

Sample present subjunctive conjugation for

-ar ending verbs….

Answer 7

hablar

hable

hables

hable

hablemos

hablen

Question 8

Sample present subjunctive conjugation for an

-er ending verb …..

Answer 8

comer

coma

comas

coma

comamos

coman

Question 9

Here’s the difficult section of these mood verbs…

Answer 9

Verbs with spelling changes, such as verbs ending in vowel + cer (conocer), -car, gar, zar ending verbs

use the same spelling changes as the negative commands:

vowel + cer > add z to the conjugation > conocer

• car > c > qu > buscar
• gar > g > gu > pagar
• zar > z > c > cruzar

Question 10

There are some expression used at the beginning of a present subjunctive sentence…

Answer 10

Sentences that express general or impersonal ideas, such as,

• Es necesario que*
• Es bueno que*
• Es importante que*

Use subjuntive conjugations in their subordinate clause. More on this issue on your video tutorial.

Question 11

Please memorize the subjunctive conjugation for

dar…

Answer 11

dé

des

dé

demos

den

Question 12

Subjunctive of estar

Answer 12

esté

estés

esté

estemos

estén

Question 13

Subjuntive of haber

Answer 13

haya

hayas

haya

hayamos

hayan

Question 14

Subjuntive of ir a

Answer 14

vaya a

vayas a

vaya a

vayamos a

vayan a

Question 15

Subjuntive of saber

Answer 15

sepa

sepas

sepa

sepamos

sepan

Question 16

Subjuntive of ser

Answer 16

sea

seas

sea

seamos

sean