Wish Someone Luck in Spanish
Vocabulary
Let's start off with the vocab words in these lessons!
Adjective
Conjunction
Verb
In this skill, you learn the following verb!
Recuperarse
Recuperarse(to recover) is an -ar pronominal verb that is regular in the present subjunctive.
| Pronoun(s) | Conjugation | Translation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | me recupere | I recover | |
| tú | te recuperes | you recover | informal singular you |
| vos | te recuperes | you recover | informal singular you (in parts of Latin America) |
| él, ella | se recupere | he, she recovers | |
| usted | se recupere | you recover | formal singular you |
| nosotros, nosotras | nos recuperemos | we recover | |
| vosotros, vosotras | os recuperéis | you recover | informal plural you (in Spain) |
| ellos, ellas | se recuperen | they recover | |
| ustedes | se recuperen | you recover | 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.
- In these lessons, we saw the verbs aprobar, encontrar, and poder, which follow this rule.
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 wish someone luck in Spanish? Check out the following articles!
