Download THE SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD When to use subjunctive… contrary to

THE SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD
When to use subjunctive…
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contrary to reality
uncertainty,
desire,
opinion
emotional reaction
Most subjunctive sentences have a main clause and a subordinate clause.
Example clauses that require subjunctive mood
dudar que = to doubt that (uncertain)
es bueno que = it is good that (opinion)
es difícil que = it is difficult that (uncertain)
es importante que = it is important that (opinion)
estar contento que = to be happy that (emotional reaction)
querer que = to want that (desire)
no creer que = to not believe that (uncertain)
ojalá que = let us hope that (desire) [ojalá comes from an Arabic phrase meaning “God willing”]
Clauses that do not require subjunctive mood
creer que = to believe that (certain)
no dudar que = to not doubt that (certain)
es obvio que = it is obvious that (certain)
es evidente que = it is evident that (certain)
Does not necessarily translate word-for-word…
Consider the following example:
I want you to go to the store. -- Quiero que vayas a la tienda.
The Spanish sentence literally means “I want that you go to the store.” It is incorrect to say quiero tú ir a la tienda. This is
a common mistake of English speakers learning Spanish. To avoid this mistake, remember that subordinate clauses in
Spanish do not use infinitive verbs unless the same person is the subject of both verbs, like this:
I want to go to the store. -- Quiero ir a la tienda.
Conjugating the Subjunctive…
Take the present tense indicative yo form of a verb, dropping the -o, and adding the “opposite ending.”
Step1: getting the stem
To form the present tense of the verb hablar…
Start with the present tense indicative yo form: hablo.
Then we remove the -o ending. We are left with the stem habl-.
Step 2: adding the opposite endings
“Opposite” endings means that -AR verbs will take the endings:
-e, -es, -e, -emos, -éis, -en
and -ER or -IR verbs will take the endings:
-a, -as, -a, -amos, áis, -an
HABLAR
hable hablemos
hables habléis
hable hablen
COMER
coma comamos
comas comáis
coma coman
Verbs with irregular yo forms
Some verbs have irregular “yo” forms, such as tener (tengo), conocer (conozco), and hacer (hago)
TENER
tenga
tengas
tenga
 TENGO
tengamos
tengáis
tengan
CONOCER  CONOZCO
conozca
conozcamos
conozcas
conozcáis
conozca
conozcan
Examples:
Yo quiero que tú tengas un buen tiempo en la fiesta. -- I want you to have a good time at the party. (Literally, "I
want that you have a good time at the party.")
Nuestra maestra quiere que conozcamos al nuevo estudiante. -- Our teacher wants us to know the new
student. (Literally, "Our teacher wants that we know the new student.")