Spanish Present Subjunctive Tense

What Is the Present Subjunctive Tense?

The subjunctive is one of the three Spanish moods. It’s used to express desires, doubts, wishes, emotions, opinions, recommendations and hypothetical or uncertain situations. The present subjunctive can be used to talk about the present and the future. Here are few examples:

• Me alegro de que hoy haga buen tiempo. (I'm glad the weather is nice today.)

• Espero que no llueva mañana. (I hope it doesn’t rain tomorrow.)

How to Form the Present Subjunctive

To form the present subjunctive, you typically start with the "yo" form of the present indicative, remove the "-o" ending and then add the appropriate subjunctive endings:

For example:

Irregular Present Subjunctive Verbs

There are six irregular verbs in the subjunctive, which you can remember using the mnemonic DISHES:

When to Use the Present Subjunctive

The present subjunctive is often used in subordinate clauses that are triggered by "que":

• Espero que encuentres tus llaves. (I hope you find your keys.)

• Quiere que su novio le proponga matrimonio. (She wants her boyfriend to propose.)

• Necesito que mi mamá me dé la receta. (I need my mom to give me the recipe.)

• Ojalá que no haga mucho calor mañana. (Hopefully it’s not too hot tomorrow.)

Note that with these verb phrases, the subjunctive is only triggered when there’s a change in the subject. Take the following sentence:

• Espero encontrar mis llaves. (I hope to find my keys.)

Here we don’t use the subjunctive (or the word "que") because the subject doesn’t change— instead, we use the infinitive verb. Now, here's a sentence where the subjunctive is necessary:

• Espero que Emily encuentre sus llaves. (I hope Emily finds her keys.)

The subject of the main clause ("yo") and that of the subordinate clause ("Emily") are different, so the use of the subjunctive is required.

These subjunctive clauses are used to express various ideas, like:

Wishes, Desires

• Deseo que ella sea feliz. (I wish for her to be happy.)

• Quiero que él venga a la fiesta. (I want him to come to the party.)

Doubts, Uncertainty

• Dudo que llueva mañana. (I doubt it will rain tomorrow.)

• No creo que el supermercado esté abierto. (I don't think the supermarket is open.)

Emotions

• Me alegro de que estés aquí. (I'm glad you’re here.)

• Me decepciona que no puedas ir a mi fiesta. (I’m disappointed that you can't come to my party.)

Opinions

• Es curioso que haya tantos teatros en esta ciudad. (It's interesting that there are so many theaters in this town.)

• Me parece raro que tu padre siempre lleve sombrero. (I find it weird that your father always wears a hat.)

Recommendations

• Te recomiendo que veas un doctor. (I recommend that you see a doctor.)

• Les sugiero que eviten los alimentos fritos. (I suggest you avoid fried foods.)

Hypothetical Scenarios

• Quizás nos vayamos de viaje este verano. (Maybe we’ll go on a trip this summer.)

• Es posible que Juan venga a la reunión. (It's possible that Juan will come to the meeting.)

Purposes

Commonly followed by "para que" (so that):

• Salí temprano del trabajo para que podamos cenar juntos. (I left work early so we can have dinner together.)

• Voy a explicarlo de nuevo para que lo entiendan mejor. (I’m going to explain it again so that you understand it better.)