Fact or not: the one idea behind it
English still has traces of a subjunctive: “I suggest that he be on time”, “if I were you”. Spanish uses it every day. The question to ask is whether the speaker presents the second action as a fact about the world. If yes, indicative. If it is only wanted, doubted, reacted to or still in the future, subjunctive.
| Indicative: presented as fact | Subjunctive: not presented as fact |
|---|---|
| CreoI-thinkquethatviene.he-comesI think he’s coming.KREH-oh keh BYEH-neh | NonotcreoI-thinkquethatvenga.he-comes (subj.)I don’t think he’s coming.noh KREH-oh keh BEN-gah |
| Esit-isverdadtruequethatesit-iscaro.expensiveIt’s true that it’s expensive.es behr-DAHD keh es KAH-roh | Esit-isposiblepossiblequethatseait-is (subj.)caro.expensiveIt may be expensive.es poh-SEE-bleh keh SEH-ah KAH-roh |
| BuscoI’m-looking-forelthelibrobookquethattienehasfotos.photosI’m looking for the book that has photos (a known book).BOOS-koh el LEE-broh keh TYEH-neh FOH-tos | BuscoI’m-looking-forunalibrobookquethattengahas (subj.)fotos.photosI’m looking for a book with photos (any, if one exists).BOOS-koh oon LEE-broh keh TEN-gah FOH-tos |
| Cuandowhenllega,he-arrivescenamos.we-have-dinnerWhen he arrives, we have dinner (every day).KWAHN-doh YEH-gah, seh-NAH-mos | Cuandowhenllegue,he-arrives (subj.)cenamos.we-have-dinnerWhen he arrives, we’ll have dinner (once, later).KWAHN-doh YEH-geh, seh-NAH-mos |
Forming the present subjunctive in three steps
The subjunctive is built from the “I” form of the present tense, so any irregularity there carries over automatically. Then the vowels swap: -ar verbs take e-endings, -er and -ir verbs take a-endings.
- 1 Take the “I” form of the present Use the form that means “I…”, irregular or not. hablar → hablotener → tengopedir → pido
- 2 Drop the final -o What is left is the subjunctive stem. hablo → habl-tengo → teng-pido → pid-
- 3 Add the “opposite” endings -ar verbs take -e endings; -er and -ir verbs take -a endings. habletengapida
| Person | hablar | comer | vivir | tener |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| que yo | hable | coma | viva | tenga |
| que tú | hables | comas | vivas | tengas |
| que él, ella, usted | hable | coma | viva | tenga |
| que nosotros | hablemos | comamos | vivamos | tengamos |
| que vosotros | habléis | comáis | viváis | tengáis |
| que ellos, ustedes | hablen | coman | vivan | tengan |
The “I” and “he, she, usted” forms are identical (que yo hable, que ella hable), so a pronoun is used more often in the subjunctive when context does not make the person clear.
Six verbs that don’t follow the steps
These six have an “I” form that does not end in -o, so step 1 cannot work. Learners remember them with the made-up word DISHES: dar, ir, saber, haber, estar, ser.
What triggers it: WEIRDO
A second memory aid groups the main verbs that trigger the subjunctive after que. Each letter is one family. Choose a letter to see the trigger words and an example.
Linking phrases that always take it
Some conjunctions (words that join two parts of a sentence) introduce something that has not happened yet or may not happen. They are followed by the subjunctive every time.
Para que (so that) is the subjunctive partner of para + infinitive; see por and para. Use the infinitive when one person does both actions (trabajo para comer, I work to eat) and para que + subjunctive when there are two (trabajo para que mis hijos coman, I work so that my children eat).
Cuando: future or habit
Time words like cuando (when), hasta que (until) and en cuanto (as soon as) take the subjunctive only when they point to the future. For habits and past events, which are facts, they take the indicative. English shows the same idea by using the present for future time: “when I arrive”, not “when I will arrive”.
One subject or two
The subjunctive needs two different people. When the person who wants is the same person who acts, Spanish uses the infinitive instead, with no que.