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Spanish 3 Unit 1: Present Subjunctive: Formation

This unit teaches how to build every present subjunctive form: regular verbs, stem-changers, spelling changes and the six irregulars. Every later subjunctive unit depends on getting these forms right automatically.

Covers: Indicative vs. subjunctive mood, Regular -ar, -er, -ir forms, Irregular yo-stem verbs, Stem-changing verbs, Spelling changes (-car, -gar, -zar), DISHES irregulars

Study guide

The subjunctive is a mood, not a tense. The indicative mood states facts and things the speaker treats as real (Sé que Ana estudia). The subjunctive presents actions that are wished for, doubted, reacted to, or not yet real (Quiero que Ana estudie). In most sentences it appears in a subordinate clause introduced by que, after a main clause that triggers it. Before you can learn when to use it, you need to form it quickly, because tests reward students who can produce the forms without thinking and then focus on the meaning of the sentence.

To form the present subjunctive of a regular verb, start with the yo form of the present indicative, drop the final -o, and add the opposite vowel endings. For -ar verbs the endings use e: -e, -es, -e, -emos, -éis, -en (hablar → hablo → hable, hables, hable, hablemos, habléis, hablen). For -er and -ir verbs the endings use a: -a, -as, -a, -amos, -áis, -an (comer → coma; vivir → viva). Notice that the yo and él/ella/usted forms are identical, so context or a subject pronoun often clarifies who is meant.

Starting from the yo form is the key trick, because any irregularity in the yo form carries into every subjunctive form. Tener → tengo → tenga, tengas, tengamos. Hacer → hago → haga. Decir → digo → diga. Conocer → conozco → conozca. Salir → salgo → salga. Ver → veo → vea. Poner, traer, oír, venir and caber follow the same logic (ponga, traiga, oiga, venga, quepa). Students who start from the infinitive instead write forms like *tena or *hace, which are wrong.

Stem-changing verbs need extra care. For -ar and -er stem-changers, the change happens in the same places as in the present indicative, the boot pattern: all forms except nosotros and vosotros (pensar → piense, pienses, piense, pensemos, penséis, piensen; poder → pueda, podamos). For -ir stem-changers, the boot forms keep their normal change, and the nosotros and vosotros forms take a second, smaller change: e → i or o → u (dormir → duerma but durmamos; sentir → sienta but sintamos; pedir → pida and pidamos).

Spelling changes keep the consonant sound the same before the new vowel: -car → -que (buscar → busque), -gar → -gue (llegar → llegue), -zar → -ce (empezar → empiece). Six verbs are fully irregular and do not come from the yo form; remember them with the acronym DISHES: dar (dé, des, dé, demos, deis, den), ir (vaya), ser (sea), haber (haya), estar (esté) and saber (sepa). Note the written accent on dé, which separates it from the preposition de, and the accents on esté, estés, esté, estén.

Key ideas

• The subjunctive is a mood used for wishes, doubts, emotions and unreal situations, usually in a clause after que.
• Regular forms come from the present yo form minus -o, plus the opposite vowel endings.
• -ar verbs take e endings; -er and -ir verbs take a endings.
• Irregular yo forms such as tengo, hago and conozco carry their irregularity into all subjunctive forms.
• -ir stem-changers add an extra e → i or o → u change in the nosotros and vosotros forms.
• Verbs ending in -car, -gar and -zar change spelling to -que, -gue and -ce.
• Dar, ir, ser, haber, estar and saber (DISHES) are fully irregular.

Formulas and rules

Common mistakes

• Starting from the infinitive instead of the yo form and writing *tena or *conoca.
• Keeping the indicative vowel after a trigger, such as writing *hablas instead of hables.
• Forgetting the extra nosotros change in -ir stem-changers (*dormamos instead of durmamos).
• Dropping the spelling change, writing *busce or *llege instead of busque and llegue.
• Leaving off required accents in dé and esté, or adding one to de when it is the preposition.

Before the test, make sure you can

• Explain the difference between the indicative and subjunctive moods.
• Form the present subjunctive of regular -ar, -er and -ir verbs in all persons.
• Form the subjunctive of verbs with irregular yo forms (tener, hacer, decir, conocer, salir).
• Conjugate -ar, -er and -ir stem-changing verbs correctly, including nosotros forms.
• Apply -car, -gar and -zar spelling changes.
• Produce all forms of dar, ir, ser, haber, estar and saber with correct accents.
• Identify the subjunctive verb in a que clause and name its infinitive and person.

Words to know

querer que

to want (someone) to

esperar que

to hope that

es importante que

it is important that

ojalá (que)

hopefully / I hope that

pedir que

to ask (someone) to

conducir

to drive

traducir

to translate

ofrecer

to offer

traer

to bring

caber

to fit

oír

to hear

divertirse

to have fun

mentir

to lie

morir

to die

repetir

to repeat

recordar

to remember

entender

to understand

sacar

to take out; to get (a grade)

pagar

to pay

almorzar

to have lunch

tocar

to touch; to play (an instrument)

organizar

to organize

Sample practice questions

30 more questions like these, from level 1 to 5, are in the practice set.