Visit the Uyuni Salt Flat in Spanish

Quick Answer

¡Hola!Learn how to visit the Uyuni Salt Flat in Spanish in this article and the lessons above! Specifically, learn how to do the following in Spanish:

• talk about the Uyuni Salt Flat

• use vocabulary related to a trip

• use the subjunctive to express a wish for the future

Vocabulary

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

Adjectives

Spanish	English
ameno	pleasant
boliviano	Bolivian
inspirado	inspired
memorable	memorable

examples
Ojalá tengan un viaje ameno. I hope you have a pleasant trip.
Ojalá pruebes comidas bolivianas. I hope you try Bolivian food.
Ojalá te sientas inspirado en Uyuni. I hope you feel inspired in Uyuni.

Nouns

Spanish	English
la altitud	altitude
el amanecer	sunrise
la amistades	friends
Bolivia	Bolivia
el cactus	cactus
la cueva de las Galaxias	Galaxy Cave
el desierto	desert
el espejo	mirror
la expectativa	expectation
el flamenco	flamingo
el géiser	geyser
la isla Incahuasi	Incahuasi Island
las termas	hot springs
la trucha	trout
el viaje	trip
el zorro	fox

examples
Ojalá te acostumbres a la altitud. I hope you get used to the altitude.
Ojalá veas un hermoso amanecer en Uyuni. I hope you see a beautiful sunrise in Uyuni.
Ojalá hagas amistades en Uyuni. I hope you make friends in Uyuni.

Verbs

In this skill, you learn the following verbs!

Apreciar

Apreciar(to appreciate) is an -ar verb that is regular in the present subjunctive.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	aprecie	I appreciate
tú	aprecies	you appreciate	informal singular you
vos	aprecies	you appreciate	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	aprecie	he, she appreciates
usted	aprecie	you appreciate	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	apreciemos	we appreciate
vosotros, vosotras	apreciéis	you appreciate	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	aprecien	they appreciate
ustedes	aprecien	you appreciate	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Asombrar

Asombrar(to amaze) is an -ar verb that is regular in the present subjunctive.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	asombre	I amaze
tú	asombres	you amaze	informal singular you
vos	asombres	you amaze	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	asombre	he, she amazes
usted	asombre	you amaze	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	asombremos	we amaze
vosotros, vosotras	asombréis	you amaze	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	asombren	they amaze
ustedes	asombren	you amaze	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Avistar

Avistar(to spot) is an -ar verb that is regular in the present subjunctive.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	aviste	I spot
tú	avistes	you spot	informal singular you
vos	avistes	you spot	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	aviste	he, she spots
usted	aviste	you spot	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	avistemos	we spot
vosotros, vosotras	avistéis	you spot	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	avisten	they spot
ustedes	avisten	you spot	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Capturar

Capturar(to capture, to take [photos]) is an -ar verb that is regular in the present subjunctive.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	capture	I capture
tú	captures	you capture	informal singular you
vos	captures	you capture	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	capture	he, she captures
usted	capture	you capture	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	capturemos	we capture
vosotros, vosotras	capturéis	you capture	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	capturen	they capture
ustedes	capturen	you capture	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Impresionar

Impresionar(to impress) is an -ar verb that is regular in the present subjunctive.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	impresione	I impress
tú	impresiones	you impress	informal singular you
vos	impresiones	you impress	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	impresione	he, she impresses
usted	impresione	you impress	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	impresionemos	we impress
vosotros, vosotras	impresionéis	you impress	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	impresionen	they impress
ustedes	impresionen	you impress	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.

examples
Ojalá tu viaje sea memorable. I hope your trip is memorable.
Ojalá regreses con bonitos recuerdos. I hope you come back with nice memories.
Ojalá Uyuni supere tus expectativas. I hope Uyuni exceeds your expectations.

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.

Teo:

¿Qué haces este verano, Laura?

What are you doing this summer, Laura?

Laura:

Voy a Bolivia. Voy a visitar Uyuni.

I’m going to Bolivia. I’m going to visit Uyuni.

Teo:

Ojalá disfrutes del salar de Uyuni.

I hope you enjoy the Uyuni Salt Flat.

Laura:

¡Gracias! ¿Has estado? ¿Qué debo hacer?

Thanks! Have you been? What should I do?

Teo:

Sí, estuve el año pasado. Ojalá veas el espejo de sal en Uyuni. ¡Es muy bonito!

Yeah, I was there last year. I hope you see the salt mirror in Uyuni. It’s really pretty!

Laura:

¡Gracias! Me preocupa la altitud. Ojalá me acostumbre a la altitud.

Thanks! I’m worried about the altitude. I hope I get used to the altitude.

The Uyuni Salt Flat

Had you ever heard of Uyuni before this lesson? The city of Uyuni is located in southwestern Bolivia, and it’s a popular tourist destination for travelers headed to the salar de Uyuni, or Uyuni Salt Flat.

The Uyuni Salt Flat is the largest salt flat in the world! It is located high in the Andes mountains, nearly 12,000 feet above sea level. It is also one of the flattest places on earth! It’s popular with tourists for its amazing beauty, especially in the rainy season when the salt flat essentially turns into a mirror. As you learned in these lessons, you can also visit hot springs and geysers, as well as see flamencos and foxes in the area!

Want to learn more about how to visit the Uyuni Salt Flat in Spanish? Check out the following articles!

• Spanish-Speaking Countries

• Plan a Trip to a Spanish-Speaking Country

• Compare Travel Stories in Spanish