what is it?
The present subjunctive is a verb mood used to express subjective actions or states—things that are wished for, doubted, felt, or judged rather than stated as facts. It appears in dependent clauses introduced by que when the main clause contains certain triggers: verbs of wish, doubt, emotion, or impersonal expressions of opinion or necessity.
when to use it
Use the present subjunctive in the dependent clause after:
Expressions of wish or desire: querer que, esperar que, desear que.
Expressions of doubt or denial: dudar que, no creer que, no pensar que.
Expressions of emotion: me alegro de que, temer que, sentir que.
Impersonal expressions of opinion, necessity, or judgment: es importante que, es necesario que, es posible que, es bueno que.
The subjunctive is required when the subject of the main clause is different from the subject of the dependent clause. If the subject is the same, use the infinitive instead: Quiero ir (I want to go) vs. Quiero que vayas (I want you to go).
formation
To form the present subjunctive:
Start with the yo form of the present indicative.
Drop the -o ending.
Add the subjunctive endings: -ar verbs take -e endings; -er and -ir verbs take -a endings.
| hablar | comer | vivir | |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | hable | coma | viva |
| tú | hables | comas | vivas |
| él/ella/usted | hable | coma | viva |
| nosotros/as | hablemos | comamos | vivamos |
| vosotros/as | habléis | comáis | viváis |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hablen | coman | vivan |
Stem-changing verbs keep their stem changes from the present indicative in most forms. For e→ie and o→ue verbs, the change occurs in all forms except nosotros and vosotros. For -ir verbs with e→i or o→u changes, the stem change applies to all forms.
| pensar (e→ie) | volver (o→ue) | pedir (e→i) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | piense | vuelva | pida |
| tú | pienses | vuelvas | pidas |
| él/ella/usted | piense | vuelva | pida |
| nosotros/as | pensemos | volvamos | pidamos |
| vosotros/as | penséis | volváis | pidáis |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | piensen | vuelvan | pidan |
Irregular verbs follow the same pattern: start from the yo form of the present indicative. Examples: tener → tengo → tenga, hacer → hago → haga, decir → digo → diga.
A few verbs have completely irregular subjunctive forms: ser (sea, seas, sea, seamos, seáis, sean), ir (vaya, vayas, vaya, vayamos, vayáis, vayan), haber (haya), saber (sepa), estar (esté), and dar (dé).
examples in context
common pitfalls
Using the indicative after expressions that require subjunctive: Learners often write Quiero que vienes instead of Quiero que vengas. Remember that querer que, esperar que, and similar expressions always trigger the subjunctive in the dependent clause.
Forgetting stem changes that carry over from the present indicative: Verbs like pensar or volver keep their stem changes in the subjunctive. Don't write pense when you mean piense.
Failing to switch the e/o stem vowels in the yo form: The subjunctive is built from the yo form of the present indicative, so irregular yo forms affect all subjunctive forms. For example, tener → tengo → tenga, not tena. The g from tengo carries through to all subjunctive forms.
Three sentences, graded here. Nothing is saved and no account is needed.
El banco quiere que ella ___ la deuda antes del viernes. (pagar)
Fill in the blank with the correct present subjunctive form of the verb in parentheses.