The Subjunctive

Question 1

When do you use the subjunctive?

Answer 1

1. After verbal expressions that convey wishes, advice and requests that someone else should do something e.g. querer que, pedir que, aconsejar que, decir que
   Quiere que su marido le llame - She wants her husband to ring her
   El entrenador le aconsejo que corriera 10 km cada día - His trainer advised him to run 10k every day.
   Voy a decir a mi hermana que vuelva en seguida - I am going to tell my sister to come back immediately
2. After verbal expressions that convey joy, hope, sorrow, anger, fear and other emotional reactions e.g. querer que, es una pena que, me gusta que, siento que, es una lástima que
   Siento que tu mamá esté enferma - I’m sorry your mum is ill
   Tengo miedo de que me ataquen - I’m scared that they will attack me
3. After verbal expressions that convey doubt, uncertainty, possibility, probability and necessity e.g. es posible que, es probable que, es necesario que, puede (ser) que, quizá tal vez, dudo que, es imposible que, no es cierto que, no estoy seguro de que
   Dudo que hablen español - I doubt that they speak Spanish
   Es imposible que nos acompañes - it’s impossible for you to come with us
   Es probable que haya salido - She has probably gone out (it’s probable that she has gone out)
4. Not used for affirmative ways of expressing negative opinions (where no doubt is implied)
   Es innegable que la inmigración es una tema muy importante - it is undeniable that immigration is an important subject
5. In some personal expressions of surprise or wishing
   Ojalá sea menos difícil - if only it were easier
   Que tengas éxito - May you succeed / I wish you success
6. After conjunctions that imply intention that something should happen, or conditions for something happening para que, de manera que, de modo que, de forma que, con el objeto con, al fin de que, a condición de que, a menos que, antes de que, con tal que, a pesar de que, aunque
   Te escribo para que sepas lo que pasa - I’m writing so that you know what’s going on
   Te presto CD a condición de que me lo devuelvas sábado - I’m lending you this CD on condition that you return it on Saturday
7. After cuando or hasta que when you are referring to the future
   Te lo diré cuando te vea - I’ll tell you when I see you
   Esperamos hasta que lleguen - we’re waiting till they arrive
8. After alguien que
9. In some forms of the imperatives

Question 2

How do you form regular verbs (the present subjunctive)?

Answer 2

Take the yo form of the present tense of the verb and replace the -o with the following endings
AR - e, es, e, emos, éis, en
ER, IR - a, as, a, amos, áis, an
E.g. hablo = hable

Question 3

How do you form irregular verbs (the present subjunctive)?

Answer 3

Yo form of the present tense e.g. tengo
dar (1st person present doy) dé, des, dé, demos, deis, den
Estar (estoy) - esté, estés, esté, estemos, estéis, estén
Haber(he) - haya, hayas, haya, hayamos, hayáis, hayan
ir (voy) - vaya, vayas, vaya, vayamos, vayáis, vayan
saber (sé) - sepa, sepas, sepa, sepamos, sepáis, sepan
ser (soy) - sea, seas, sea, seamos, seáis, sean

Question 4

What is the usage of the imperfect subjunctive?

Answer 4

The same as the prefect subjunctive but in past tense sentences
Era imposible que hablaras con él - it was impossible for you to talk to him
Le dije que no bebiera más - I told him not to drink any more
Quieran que Antonio se fuera - They wanted Antonio to go away
Te escribí para que supieras lo que pasaba - I wrote so that you would know what was going on
Era necesario que saliéramos a trabajar - it was necessary for us to go out to work
Ella buscaba un hombre que tuviera mucho dinero - she was looking for a man who had lots of money
2. Also need to use imperfect subjunctive in Si… conditional sentences that express doubt
Si fuera rico, iría a España - if I were rich, I would go to Spain
Si me casara con ella, me volvería loco - if I married her I would go crazy

Question 5

How to form the imperfect subjunctive?

Answer 5

Two forms, one ending in -ra and one ending in -se. Completely interchangeable but the -ra form is more common.
Stem is always taken from the third person plural (ellos) of the pretérito ‘They’ form take of RON
hablar (hablaron) habla- ra, ras, ra, áramos, rais, ran (se, ses, se, ásemos, seis, sen)
beber (bebieron) bebie- ra, ras, ram éramos, rais, ran (same)
vivir (vivieron) vivie- (same as ER) (same)

Question 6

How do you from irregular verbs in the imperfect subjunctive?

Answer 6

Stem is always taken from third person plural of the pretérito
Tener (tuvieron) tuvi-era, eras, era, éramos, erais, eran
Poder (pudieron) pudi- (same)
decir (dijieron) dij- (same)

Question 7

How do you use and form the perfect and pluperfect subjunctive?

Answer 7

When you need the perfect and imperfect tenses in the grammatical contexts of the subjunctive you use subjunctive instead of indicative
Perfect subjunctive formed:
The present subjunctive of the auxiliary verb haber + the past participle
Es probable que haya salido
It is likely that he has gone out
Pluperfect forming:
The imperfect subjunctive of the auxiliary verb haber + the past participle
Era probable que hubiese salido
It was probable that she had gone out

Question 8

Usage of imperatives?

Answer 8

Used to give instructions and commands
E.g. Escúchame - listen to me
No arrojes basura - Don’t drop litter
Either informal - tu, vosotros forms) of formal (usted, ustedes form)

Question 9

Formation of positive and negative imperatives?

Answer 9

positive imperatives: informal positive imperatives; for tú use the normal tú form of the present tense without the final -s, for vosotros replace the final -r of the infinitive with -d
E.g. limitar - tú, limita and vosotros limitad
Proteger - tú, protege and vosotros proteged
vivir - tú, vive and vosotros vivid
There are a few irregulars tú positive imperatives
decir - di
hacer - haz
ir - ve
poner - pon
salir - sal
ser - sé
tener - ten
venir - ven
For usted and ustedes use the third person of the present subjunctive
limitar usted, limite and ustedes limiten
proteger usted proteja and ustedes protejan
vivir usted viva and ustedes vivan

Formation of negative imperatives
for all use the appropriate negative word plus the present subjunctive
limitar tú no limites, vosotros no limitéis, usted no limite, ustedes no limiten
proteger tú no protejas, vosotros no protejáis, usted no proteja, ustedes no protejan
vivir tú no vivas, no viváis, no viva, no vivan