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Subjunctive - Subjunctivo

How to conjugate in the subjunctive

Form the present subjunctive of regular verbs by dropping the -o from the yo form of the present tense and adding the subjunctive endings.

These endings are easy to remember:
-ar verbs use the present-tense endings of -er verbs
-er and -ir verbs use the present-tense endings of -ar verbs

Irregular verbs

Of course, there are always those pesky irregular verbs. The "big" five being:

estar - éste,
ser - sea,
dar - dé,
saber - sepa,
ir - vaya.

When to use the Spanish conjunctive

The difference between indicative and subjunctive is the difference between certainty (indicative) and possibility (subjunctive).


No dudo que usted va al Machu Picchu en el febrero.

Yo dudo que usted vaya al Machu Picchu en agosto.

A second use of the subjunctive is in cases of influence and emotion. My Spanish teacher artfully puts it, "When I am sticking my foot in your business." There are many situations where this will apply. The common ones involve triggers that are extensive. I will give one example.
Es importante que hable bien el español.


Of course, there is a lot more to Spanish subjunctive, including the use of dependent clauses and future actions. I will expand on this later, but for now listen to Rosanna and eschucha Spanish subjunctive.

Here are two examples from Rosanna's Llegaramos a tiempo.

Tengo miedo que se rompa la esperanza.
 Llegarás cuando vayas más allá del intento.

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