Plan a Quinceañera in Spanish

Quick Answer

¡Hola!Learn how to plan a quinceañera in Spanish in this article and the lessons above! Specifically, learn how to do the following in Spanish:

• talk about a quinceañera

• use vocabulary related to parties

• use the subjunctive to talk about conditional outcomes

Vocabulary

Let's start off with the vocab words in these lessons!

Nouns

Spanish	English
el brindis	toast
el chambelán	escort
la invitación	invitation
el micrófono	microphone
la muñeca	doll
la quinceañera	quinceañera
el salón	(banquet) hall
la tiara	tiara
el vals	waltz
el video	video
el, la violinista	violinist

examples
En cuanto termine el brindis. As soon as the toast is over.
Hasta que lleguen mis chambelanes. Until my escorts arrive.
En cuanto quieras, envío las invitaciones. As soon as you want, I'll mail the invitations.

Noun Phrases

Spanish	English
el centro de atención	center of attention
la corte de honor	court of honor
la mesa de dulces	candy table
la prueba del vestido	dress fitting

examples
Siempre que estés, serás el centro de atención. As long as you're there, you'll be the center of attention.
Hasta que la corte de honor esté lista. Until the court of honor is ready.
Contratará una mesa de dulces. He'll rent a candy table.

Prepositional Phrase

Spanish	English
bajo control	under control

examples
Disfrutaré siempre que todo esté bajo control. I'll enjoy myself as long as everything is under control.

Verbs

In this skill, you learn the following verbs!

Spanish	English
aplaudir	to clap
planear	to plan

Bailar

Bailar(to dance) is an -ar verb that is regular in the present subjunctive.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	baile	I dance
tú	bailes	you dance	informal singular you
vos	bailes	you dance	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	baile	he, she dances
usted	baile	you dance	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	bailemos	we dance
vosotros, vosotras	bailéis	you dance	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	bailen	they dance
ustedes	bailen	you dance	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Planear

Planear(to plan) is an -ar verb that is regular in the present subjunctive.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	planee	I plan
tú	planees	you plan	informal singular you
vos	planees	you plan	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	planee	he, she plans
usted	planee	you plan	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	planeemos	we plan
vosotros, vosotras	planeéis	you plan	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	planeen	they plan
ustedes	planeen	you plan	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. We can also use the subjunctive to talk about conditional outcomes.

Conditional Outcomes

This type of sentence describes what will happen if another action is completed. These actions are conditional upon another action being completed, so the subjunctive is used to convey a sense of uncertainty. Many phrases with conditional circumstances have a connecting phrase or conjunctive expressions which introduce time limitations, conditions, concessions, or results. The key action—the one that must be completed for the second action to occur—is in the subjunctive.

examples
No comerán hasta que pase el baile. They won't eat until after the dance.
Guardaré el micrófono hasta que tú cantes. I'll keep the microphone until you sing.

examples

No comerán hasta que pase el baile.

They won't eat until after the dance.

Guardaré el micrófono hasta que tú cantes.

I'll keep the microphone until you sing.

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

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.

Subjunctive Trigger Words

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.

Culture: Quinceañeras

Depending on the family, a girl’s quinceañera lies somewhere on the spectrum between a traditional rite of passage and a lavish ball. Every quinceañera is a little different, but traditional celebrations generally share the following elements:

A Catholic mass is held before the celebration.

The quinceañera makes a grand entrance into her fiesta (party).

Throughout the evening, the quinceañera is accompanied by her entourage, consisting of her damas(ladies) and her chambelanes (escorts).

A formal toast is given.

The quinceañera and her father participate in a father-daughter dance, generally a waltz.

The quinceañera tradition is celebrated throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, although it remains strongest in Mexico. Traditions vary between countries; for example, in many Spanish-speaking countries there is a candle-lighting ceremony.

Learn more about quinceañeras in this article!