The present subjunctive: build the form before choosing the mood
CEFR B1
What you will learn
- Build all six persons of regular present-subjunctive verbs in the three conjugations.
- Carry present-tense stem and spelling changes into frequent irregular subjunctive forms.
- Construct a que-clause when two subjects are linked by a wish, request or judgement.
The idea
The present subjunctive can point to now or later. Present names its time orientation; subjunctive marks how the speaker frames the clause—as wanted, requested, evaluated, doubted or still pending rather than simply asserted. Learn the form and the choice separately. A correct trigger with a wrong ending still fails, and a perfect form in an asserted fact still uses the wrong mood.
When the subject of both actions is the same, Spanish normally uses an infinitive: “Prefiero salir temprano.” When the subjects differ, the second action becomes a finite que-clause: “Prefiero que Ana salga temprano.”
The subject change does not create the subjunctive by itself. It supplies the clause shape; a wish, request, emotion or judgement supplies the non-assertive frame.
Complete regular present subjunctive
| person | hablar | comer | vivir |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | hable | coma | viva |
| tú | hables | comas | vivas |
| él / ella / usted | hable | coma | viva |
| nosotros / nosotras | hablemos | comamos | vivamos |
| vosotros / vosotras | habléis | comáis | viváis |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | hablen | coman | vivan |
Six complete high-frequency irregular paradigms
| person | ser | ir | estar | dar | saber | haber |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| yo | sea | vaya | esté | dé | sepa | haya |
| tú | seas | vayas | estés | des | sepas | hayas |
| él / ella / usted | sea | vaya | esté | dé | sepa | haya |
| nosotros / nosotras | seamos | vayamos | estemos | demos | sepamos | hayamos |
| vosotros / vosotras | seáis | vayáis | estéis | deis | sepáis | hayáis |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | sean | vayan | estén | den | sepan | hayan |
How it sounds
- La coordinadora pide que Leo envíe el horario hoy.The person asking and the person sending are different subjects. A request is framed with a main verb plus que. The present yo form is envío; remove -o and use the -ar subjunctive ending for Leo.
Your turn
Two or three, to check that the bit above landed.
Use the first panel. Elena quiere que Marcos ___ la ventana. (cerrar)
cierre — The subjects differ and Elena expresses a wish. Cerrar is an -ar verb with e→ie outside nosotros/vosotros, so third-person singular is cierre.
Use the three folders in the middle panel. Es necesario que nosotros ___ los documentos. (traer)
traigamos — The yo form traigo supplies traig-. Nosotros takes the -er/-ir subjunctive ending -amos: traigamos.
Use the search panel. Ojalá ustedes ___ los dos libros. (buscar)
busquen — Ojalá selects the subjunctive. Ustedes is third-person plural, and buscar changes c to qu before e: busquen.
What your own language pushes you to say
Wrong Quiero Ana venir temprano.
Right Quiero que Ana venga temprano.
With different subjects, Spanish needs a finite que-clause; venir also inherits the irregular present stem veng-.
Once it makes sense
Practise this: “Quiero que vengas”: the subjunctiveEssential irregular present forms for A1When to use the subjunctive: assertion, reaction and pending eventsThe imperative: choose the addressee, polarity and regional form