The Subjunctive Mood Part One.
The Subjunctive: Part One
The word “subjunctive” comes from the word “subjoined” which means that something is joined subsequently to something else. In foreign language learning, that means that there are two independent phrases (each with a subject and verb) that are joined together by a relative pronoun like “that.” In Spanish this relator will always be “que.”
The first thing we have to learn about the subjunctive is the forms. I looked for these in the grammar section of SD and was unable to find them. Either they are unavailable or are so hard to find that even an experienced member like myself can’t find them. So I will give the grammar on this point first.
Regular verbs. The subjunctive uses what I call “opposite endings” that is the endings you would expect to find on an “ar” verb will instead be found on the “er” and “ir” verbs, and vice versa. Below are some examples of present tense Subjunctive forms of regular verbs.
Tomar: yo tome, tú tomes, él tome, nosotros tomemos, vosotros tomáis, ellos tomen.
Comer: yo coma, tú comas, él coma, nosotros comamos, vosotros comáis, ellos coman.
Vivir" Yo viva, tú vivas, él viva, nosotros vivamos, vosotros viváis, ellos vivan. .
Irregular forms:
To get the irregular stem of any irregular verb. (with a few exceptions) you first the the “yo” form of the present tense. Examples: decir digo. Use “dig” “hacer” ..hago, use “hag” “salir” salgo, use “salg”
So then you have: “diga, digas, diga, digamos, digáis, digan and go on. All the rest follow the same pattern. Verbs with stem changes keep the stem changes. “duerme” duerma, “empieza” empiece (note the spelling change.) Some verbs like "dormir" have a special stem change in the Nosotros and vosotros forms. "Durmamos" Durmáis, Pedir: pidamos, pidáis. Sentir: sintamos, sintáis.
The exceptions to the "get the yo form rule" are as follows. “Ser” sea, seas, sea, seamos, seáis,sean. Estar: esté, estés, esté, estemos, estéis, esten. “Dar” dé des, dé demos, deis, den. “Ver” vea veas vea veamos veáis vean. “Ir” vaya, vayas, vaya vayamos vayáis, vayan.
There are also endings for what is called “the imperfect” subjunctive, but those will appear in a much later lesson. The good news is that they are actually easier once you know my system.
When and why do you use this “subjunctive” mood thingy? To answer that I will have to define what a “mood” is. English and Spanish have four “moods” called “modos” in Spanish.
The “indicative” mood. This is what I call the “reporting the news” mood. The usual declarative sentences. Pablo speaks Spanish. I woke up early this morning. We always have supper at 6pm. We will have a test tomorrow. The indicative mood reports the news in all the tenses of both languages.
The “Infinitive” mood merely states the action without reference to time or place or person—just the action. “Hablar”—to speak, “ganar”---- to win, “pelear”---to fight
The Imperative mood gives commands. “come here”---ven acá, “Speak Spanish”-- Hable/a español, and so forth.
The subjunctive mood is used to convey expressions of doubt; It’s used to speak of certain emotions; it’s also used in expressions where one person is influencing the behavior of another, and sometimes for reasons that make no
sense at all to the English speaker. 
I will cover them all just a few at a time.
Some specific uses of the subjunctive.
The Subjunctive is usually found in the second of two clauses in a compound sentence. The clauses are connected by the word “que.” The Main Clause has to be of the type that we call a subjunctive “trigger” that is, there is something Inherent in the main clause that will initiate the subjunctive in the second.
One subjunctive “trigger” is a main clause that is in some manner attempting to influence your behavior. The first kind are certain “impersonal” expressions. Here are some of them.
Es necesario que
Es importante que
Es urgente que
Es major que
Es malo que
Es urgent que Es bueno que
Here’s an example of using two of them.
Es importante que “estudies” el subjunctive para poder hablar bien el español.
Es necesario que “aprendas” de memoria las formas.
Another subjunctive trigger which influences your behavior consists of the following verbs.
Aconsejar que, desear que, importa que, insistir en que, mandar que, necesitar que, pedir que, preferir que, Prohibir que, querer que, recomendar que, rogar que, sugerir que.
Here are some examples.
Te aconsejo que tomes una clase de español en una universidad.
Mi mamá siempre pide que (yo) estudie los verbos.
Mi profersor insiste en que (yo) estudie el vocabulario. Mi hijo me pide que le haga enchiladas.
And this ends my first lesson on the subjunctive. More to follow.
3 Answers
I'm bumping this because someone wants to know about the subjunctive. This a a good introduction for beginners.
El Bumpo.
Mil gracias por esto.. Ud. es muy amable. Estoy practicando. Muchas gracias por tu ayuda
