Spanish Lesson 3(Unidad 3)

El arte y el cine en España y América Latina

The Subjunctive: Forms
(El subjuntivo: formas)

The subjunctive is not a verb tense; it's called a "mood". In fact, the subjunctive has various tenses and forms, though fewer than the indicative mood. The 4 subjunctive tenses that we will cover are the present subjunctive, the imperfect (past) subjunctive, the present perfect subjunctive, and the pluperfect subjunctive.

Present Subjunctive: Regular -AR verbs
DESCANSAR: to rest
...que yo descanse	...que nosotros descansemos
...que tú descanses	(que vosotros descanséis)
...que él/ella/Ud. descanse	...que ellos/ellas/Uds. descansen

Present Subjunctive: Regular -ER and -IR verbs
COMPRENDER: to understand
...que yo comprenda	...que nosotros comprendamos
...que tú comprendas	(...que vosotros comprendáis)
...que él/ella/Ud. comprenda	...que ellos/ellas/Uds. comprendan

Notes 1. The verbs that have irregular "yo" forms in the present indicative are also irregular in the present subjunctive. The rule for most verbs is to drop the -o of the "yo" form; what is left is the stem that the subjunctive endings are added to. For the verb hacer, the "yo" form is hago, so the stem is hag-: ... que yo haga ... que nosotros hagamos ... que tú hagas (... que vosotros hagáis) ... que ella haga ... que ellos hagan 2. The following six verbs do not follow the rule given in 1. Their forms in the present subjunctive are given below. You can remember these verbs using the acronym DISHES. dar (doy) dé, des, dé, demos, den ir (voy) vaya, vayas, vaya, vayamos, vayan saber (sé) sepa, sepas, sepa, sepamos, sepan haber (hay) haya estar (estoy) esté, estés, esté, estemos, estén ser (soy) sea, seas, sea, seamos, sean 3. The verbs that have stem changes in the present indicative have the same stem changes in the present subjunctive. However, the stem changing verbs ending in -ir, including pedir, mentir, seguir, sentir, vestir, dormir, and many others, have slightly irregular nosotros forms. Instead of having the regular stem vowel in the nosotros form, the verbs with an e stem vowel have an i, and the verbs with an o stem vowel have a u. Here are the examples of sentir and dormir: sienta sintamos duerma durmamos sientas (sintáis) duermas (durmáis) sienta sientan duerma duerman 4. There are also verbs that have spelling changes in the present subjunctive. Two examples are the verb sacar, which is conjugated saque, saques, saque, etc, and the verb comenzar, which is conjugated comience, comiences, comience, etc. Recall that these spelling changes are necessary to accurately represent the pronunciation of the words. You can review spelling alternations in the section on the present indicative in Unidad 1.

Imperfect Subjunctive: Regular -AR verbs
DESCANSAR: to rest
...que yo descansara	...que nosotros descansáramos
...que tú descansaras	(que vosotros descansarais)
...que él/ella/Ud. descansara	...que ellos/ellas/Uds. descansaran

Imperfect Subjunctive: Regular -ER and -IR verbs
VIVIR: to understand
...que yo viviera	...que nosotros viviéramos
...que tú vivieras	(...que vosotros vivierais)
...que él/ella/Ud. viviera	...que ellos/ellas/Uds. vivieran

Notes 1. The stem of the imperfect subjunctive is derived from the 3rd person plural (ellos/as) form of the preterite. This means that if a verb is irregular in the preterite forms, it will have the same irregularity in the imperfect subjunctive. Two examples are decir (pret. dijeron) and seguir (pret. siguieron): dijera dijéramos siguiera siguiéramos dijeras (dijerais) siguieras (siguierais) dijera dijeran siguiera siguieran 2. The nosotros form in the imperfect subjunctive always needs a written accent on the third from last syllable; no other form of the imperfect subjunctive needs a written accent.

Present Perfect Subjunctive
The present perfect subjunctive is formed with the present subjunctive conjugation of the verb haber plus the past participle, which for -ar verbs ends in -ado and for -er and -ir verbs ends in -ido. You can review the irregular past participles [here]. Here is the present perfect subjunctive of descansar:
...que yo haya descansado	...que nosotros hayamos descansado
...que tú hayas descansado	(que vosotros hayais descansado)
...que él/ella/Ud. haya descansado	...que ellos/as/Uds. hayan descansado

Pluperfect Subjunctive
The pluperfect subjunctive is formed with the imperfect subjunctive conjugation of the verb haber plus the past participle. Here is the pluperfect subjunctive of descansar:
...que yo hubiera descansado	...que nosotros hubiéramos descansado
...que tú hubieras descansado	(que vosotros hubierais descansado)
...que él hubiera descansado	...que ellas hubieran descansado

The Subjunctive Used to Indicate Doubt
(El subjuntivo para indicar duda)

One use of the subjunctive in Spanish is to indicate doubt or uncertainty. There are many phrases and verbs that are used with the subjunctive in this context. Some of the most common are: dudar que... es dudable que... no es cierto que... no es obvio que... no es seguro que... no significar que... A related use of the subjunctive is to indicate possibility or probability (both of which still indicate some degree of uncertainty). Here are some common phrases and verbs indicating possibility or probability: es imposible que... es improbable que... es posible que... es probable que... puede ser que... Examples: Dudábamos que Velázquez hubiera pintado esa obra. Es imposible que lleguemos al cine a tiempo. Es improbable que Almodóvar dirija una película de acción.

Notes 1. Most of the time, the subjunctive is used in clauses or phrases beginning with que. However, the subjunctive can also be used after words like quizás and tal vez (maybe) and after adverbs like posiblemente and probablemente: Quizás sea/es mejor que vayamos al museo mañana. Picasso probablemente haya sido/ha sido el pintor más renombrado del siglo 20. Using the subjuntive in these cases generally indicates a greater degree of doubt about the statement. 2. Phrases and verbs indicating personal knowledge or opinion generally do not take the subjunctive. For example, the subjunctive is not used after pensar que, creer que, suponer que, parecer que, saber que, or after es cierto que and es verdad que: Creo que tenemos tiempo para visitar a tu amigo. Parece que tu amigo es muy buen pintor. 3. The subjunctive is used after no pensar que, no creer que, no suponer que and no parecer que: No creo que tengamos tiempo para visitar a tu amigo. No parece que sea muy buen pintor. The Subjunctive to Indicate Emotion & Wishes (El subjuntivo para indicar emociones y deseos) The subjunctive is used to express emotional reactions and also when expressing wishes, desires, and suggestions. Some of the most common verbs and expressions that require the subjunctive when expressing emotion or personal reaction include: alegrarse (de) que dar pena que encantar que enfadar que enojar que estar contento/a (de) que estar triste (de) que fascinar que gustar que indignar quemolestar que no soportar que ofender que preocupar que sorprender que temer que tener miedo de que es bueno que es comprensible que es curioso que es fantástico que es horrible que es importante que es impresionante que es increíble que es interesante que es lógico que es malo que es mejor que es natural que es sorprendente que es terrible que es triste que es una lástima que es una pena que Examples: No me gusta que mi hermano toque el violín en casa.   Me sorprende que te gusten las películas románticas.   Es curioso que las películas violentas sean tan populares. Some of the most common verbs and expressions that require the subjunctive when expressing wishes, desires and suggestions are: aconsejar que desear que esperar que evitar que exigir que hacer falta que impedir que importar que lograr que mandar que necesitar que ojalá (que) pedir que permitir que preferir que pretender que prohibir que proponer que querer que recomendar que sugerir que es aconsejable que es deseable que es necesario que es obligatorio que es preferible que es recomendable que Examples: Queremos que tú nos acompañes al museo.   Le pedí que me dijera la verdad.   Es necesario que el director sepa trabajar con los actores. Notes 1. Remember that when there is no change of subject, generally que is omitted and the infinitive is used rather than the subjunctive: Quiero acompañarte al museo. Es necesario trabajar mucho para ganar un buen sueldo. 2. The subjunctive is also used for indirect commands after verbs such as decir and insistir. It is important to recognize the difference in meaning between using the indicative versus the subjunctive after these verbs; using the indicative indicates a statement of fact or opinion and using the subjunctive indicates a command: Julia dice que vas al concierto = Julia says that you are going to the concert (fact) Julia dice que vayas al concierto = Julia says for you to go to the concert (command) The Subjunctive Used to Indicate Nonexistence (El subjuntivo para indicar inexistencia) The subjunctive is also used to talk about things and situations that are unknown or nonexistant. There are a few expressions that always take the subjunctive in this context: no conocer a nadie que no existe nada que no existe nadie que no existe ningun/a __ que no hay nada que no hay nadie que no hay ningun/a __ que Examples: No conozco a nadie que entienda las películas de David Lynch.   No existe ningún libro que te enseñe a ser feliz .   No había nada que me pudiera hacer cambiar de opinión. There are also many verbs and expressions that are only used with the subjunctive when they indicate something unknown or nonexistant, and are otherwise used with the indicative. One of the clearest examples is the verb buscar: 1. Busco una casa que tenga cuatro habitaciones y que esté cerca de la universidad = I'm looking for a house that has 4 bedrooms and is near the university (but I don't have a specific house in mind and I don't know if such a house even exists) 2. Busco una casa que tiene cuatro habitaciones y que está cerca de la universidad = I'm looking for a house that has 4 bedrooms and is near the university (I have a specific house in mind and I know that it exists, I'm just not sure where it is) The subjunctive is also used to talk about future things and situations that are taken to be unknown. The subjunctive is used after various words and phrases in this context: antes de que* cuando en cuanto después de que hasta que mientras tan pronto como In these cases, it's important to distinguish between using the subjunctive to indicate an unknown future and using the indicative to indicate a known present. The following examples should help you to understand this difference: 1. Cuando vamos al cine, siempre comemos palomitas de maíz. When we go to the movies, we always eat popcorn (this is something that happens often, it's just stating a simple fact) 2. Cuando vayamos al cine este fin de semana, quiero comer palomitas de maíz. When we go to the movies this weekend, I want to eat popcorn (going to the movies is a plan, it hasn't happened yet, and so it's part of the unknown future) * The subjunctive is always used after antes de que, because this phrase always implies an unknown future. Finally, the subjuntive can be used with "que", "lo que", "donde", "como" and "quien" to express English "whatever", "whenever", "however" and "whoever"; note that all of these expressions refer to things, people, or places that are unknown: El metro de Madrid te llevará a donde quieras ir = The Madrid metro will take you wherever you want to go. Quien esté libre de pecado, que tire la primera piedra = Whoever is without sin, let him throw the first stone. Tenemos que arreglar el coche como podamos = We have to fix the car however we can. Hacíamos lo que Julieta dijera = We used to do whatever Julieta said. The Subjunctive Used to Indicate Dependence (El subjuntivo para indicar dependencia) A final use of the subjunctive is to indicate a relationship of dependence between two actions. There are a few specific expressions that always take the subjunctive in this context. One way to remember them is that the first letters spell the word ESCAPA, with one extra A on the end: en caso de que (in case) sin que (without) con tal de que (provided that) a menos que (unless) para que (so that)* a condición de que (on the condition that) a fin de que (so that) * Para que is one of the most common phrases used with the subjunctive, so be especially aware of it. Examples: Les explicamos el subjuntivo para que lo entiendan.   No vamos al cine a menos que alguien nos lleve.   Salieron de la casa sin que nadie se diera cuenta. With aunque, meaning "although", "even though" or "even if", the subjunctive is used to describe something that is unknown or contrary to fact. Note the difference in meaning between these two sentences: Mi primo decidió dedicarse a la escultura, aunque a sus padres no les gustaba. My cousin decided to do sculpture for a living, even though his parents didn't like it. (Using the indicative implies that his parents definitely didn't like it) Mi primo decidió dedicarse a la escultura, aunque a sus padres no les gustara.My cousin decided to do sculpture for a living, even if his parents didn't like it. (Using the subjunctive implies that we don't know if his parents wouldn't like it or not)