Celebrate a Milestone in Spanish
Vocabulary
Let's start off with the vocab words in these lessons!
Adjective
Nouns
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| el artículo | article |
| el capitán | captain |
| la cura | cure |
| el diploma | diploma |
| el disco | album |
| los honores | honors |
| el invento | invention |
| el premio | prize |
| el récord | record |
| examples |
|---|
Verbs
In this skill, you learn the following verbs!
Alcanzar
Alcanzar(to achieve) is an -ar verb that has a stem change in the present subjunctive.
| Pronoun(s) | Conjugation | Translation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | alcance | I achieve | |
| tú | alcances | you achieve | informal singular you |
| vos | alcances | you achieve | informal singular you (in parts of Latin America) |
| él, ella | alcance | he, she achieves | |
| usted | alcance | you achieve | formal singular you |
| nosotros, nosotras | alcancemos | we achieve | |
| vosotros, vosotras | alcancéis | you achieve | informal plural you (in Spain) |
| ellos, ellas | alcancen | they achieve | |
| ustedes | alcancen | you achieve | plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain) |
Doctorarse
Doctorarse(to get one’s PhD) is an -ar pronominal verb that is regular in the present subjunctive.
| Pronoun(s) | Conjugation | Translation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | me doctore | I get my PhD | |
| tú | te doctores | you get your PhD | informal singular you |
| vos | te doctores | you get your PhD | informal singular you (in parts of Latin America) |
| él, ella | se doctore | he, she gets his, her PhD | |
| usted | se doctore | you get your PhD | formal singular you |
| nosotros, nosotras | nos doctoremos | we get our PhDs | |
| vosotros, vosotras | os doctoréis | you get your PhDs | informal plural you (in Spain) |
| ellos, ellas | se doctoren | they get their PhDs | |
| ustedes | se doctoren | you get your PhDs | plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain) |
Grabar
Grabar(to record) is an -ar verb that is regular in the present subjunctive.
| Pronoun(s) | Conjugation | Translation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | grabe | I record | |
| tú | grabes | you record | informal singular you |
| vos | grabes | you record | informal singular you (in parts of Latin America) |
| él, ella | grabe | he, she records | |
| usted | grabe | you record | formal singular you |
| nosotros, nosotras | grabemos | we record | |
| vosotros, vosotras | grabéis | you record | informal plural you (in Spain) |
| ellos, ellas | graben | they record | |
| ustedes | graben | you record | plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain) |
Graduarse
Graduarse(to graduate) is an -ar pronominal verb that is regular in the present subjunctive.
| Pronoun(s) | Conjugation | Translation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | me gradúe | I graduate | |
| tú | te gradúes | you graduate | informal singular you |
| vos | te gradúes | you graduate | informal singular you (in parts of Latin America) |
| él, ella | se gradúe | he, she graduates | |
| usted | se gradúe | you graduate | formal singular you |
| nosotros, nosotras | nos graduemos | we graduate | |
| vosotros, vosotras | os graduéis | you graduate | informal plural you (in Spain) |
| ellos, ellas | se gradúen | they graduate | |
| ustedes | se gradúen | you graduate | plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain) |
Inaugurar
Inaugurar(to open) is an -ar verb that is regular in the present subjunctive.
| Pronoun(s) | Conjugation | Translation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | inaugure | I open | |
| tú | inaugures | you open | informal singular you |
| vos | inaugures | you open | informal singular you (in parts of Latin America) |
| él, ella | inaugure | he, she opens | |
| usted | inaugure | you open | formal singular you |
| nosotros, nosotras | inauguremos | we open | |
| vosotros, vosotras | inauguréis | you open | informal plural you (in Spain) |
| ellos, ellas | inauguren | they open | |
| ustedes | inauguren | you open | plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain) |
Nombrar
Nombrar(to appoint) is an -ar verb that is regular in the present subjunctive.
| Pronoun(s) | Conjugation | Translation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | nombre | I appoint | |
| tú | nombres | you appoint | informal singular you |
| vos | nombres | you appoint | informal singular you (in parts of Latin America) |
| él, ella | nombre | he, she appoints | |
| usted | nombre | you appoint | formal singular you |
| nosotros, nosotras | nombremos | we appoint | |
| vosotros, vosotras | nombréis | you appoint | informal plural you (in Spain) |
| ellos, ellas | nombren | they appoint | |
| ustedes | nombren | you appoint | plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain) |
The Present Subjunctive
The Spanish present subjunctive (el presente de subjuntivo) is used to talk about situations of doubt, desire, emotion, necessity, or uncertainty.
Unlike the present indicative, the present subjunctive is generally subjective.
Conjugating Verbs in the Present Subjunctive
To conjugate a verb in the present subjunctive, you must first remember what the present indicative yo form of the verb in question is. This is because the stem of present subjunctive verbs comes from the yo form of the present indicative. For many verbs, this will be the same as the infinitive stem, but for many others, such as verbs with spelling changes, stem-changing verbs, and irregular verbs, it will be different.
Present Subjunctive Stem Formula
The formula for finding the present subjunctive stem of a verb is the following:
- present subjunctive stem = yo form of present indicative minus o ending
Regular Present Subjunctive Endings
Once you have the stem, you will add the present subjunctive ending that matches your subject. There are only two ending sets for the present subjunctive: one for -ar verbs and one for both -er and -ir verbs.
| Subject | -ar Verb Endings | -er and -ir Verb Endings |
|---|---|---|
| yo | e | a |
| tú, vos | es | as |
| usted, él, ella | e | a |
| nosotros, nosotras | emos | amos |
| vosotros, vosotras | éis | áis |
| ustedes, ellos, ellas | en | an |
Irregular Verbs in the Present Subjunctive
There are only six truly irregular verbs in the subjunctive. You'll find the conjugations for each of these verbs in the tables below.
Present Subjunctive Conjugations of Dar, Estar, and Ser
| Subject | Dar | Estar | Ser |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | dé | esté | sea |
| tú, vos | des | estés | seas |
| usted, él, ella | dé | esté | sea |
| nosotros, nosotras | demos | estemos | seamos |
| vosotros, vosotras | deis | estéis | seáis |
| ustedes, ellos, ellas | den | estén | sean |
Present Subjunctive Conjugations of Haber, Ir, and Saber
| Subject | Haber | Ir | Saber |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | haya | vaya | sepa |
| tú, vos | hayas | vayas | sepas |
| usted, él, ella | haya | vaya | sepa |
| nosotros, nosotras | hayamos | vayamos | sepamos |
| vosotros, vosotras | hayáis | vayáis | sepáis |
| ustedes, ellos, ellas | hayan | vayan | sepan |
To remember these six verbs, just think of the mnemonic DISHES:
Dar
Ir
Saber
Haber
Estar
Ser
Stem Changes and the Present Subjunctive
While they’re not entirely irregular, the following verbs do have certain changes that we need to keep in mind while conjugating verbs in the subjunctive:
1. e> ie and o> ue Stem Changes with -ar and -er Verbs
For verbs in this group, the e in the last syllable of the stem (the yo form of the present indicative) changes to ie, or the o in the last syllable of the stem (the yo form of the present indicative) changes to ue. All subjunctive forms follow the stem change except for nosotros and vosotros, which use the infinitive stem.
2. e> ie and o> ue Stem Changes with -ir Verbs
All e> ie and o> ue stem-changing -ir verbs follow the same changes as in the present indicative, except the nosotros and vosotros, forms, in which the e changes to i and the o changes to u.
3. e> i Stem Changes with -ir Verbs
All e> i stem-changing -ir verbs in the present indicative maintain the stem change in all forms of the present subjunctive.
Ojalá and the Subjunctive
WEIRDO
Many of the verbs and phrases that require the subjunctive fit into the acronym WEIRDO: Wishes, Emotions, Impersonal expressions, Recommendations, Doubt/Denial, and Ojalá.
Ojalá
Ojalá is a Spanish word of Arabic origin. Originally, it meant something like Oh, Allah and may have been used in prayers. In modern times, it has taken on several more general meanings, such as I hope/pray to God, God willing, I hope, I wish or if only.
Ojalá is followed by a verb in the subjunctive.
Quiz Yourself!
Want more practice with the vocabulary you learned in these lessons? Click here!
Spanish Conversation
Fantastic! Let's put the grammar and vocab from above to the test in the following example of a conversation in Spanish.
Want to learn more about how to celebrate a milestone in Spanish? Check out the following articles!
