Introduction to the Subjunctive Mood

Introduction

The subjunctive (el subjuntivo) is a verb mood used to express wishes, doubts, emotions, and hypothetical situations. English rarely shows it ("I wish he were here"), but Spanish uses it constantly.

Key idea: The indicative states facts. The subjunctive expresses everything else — desires, uncertainty, feelings, and unreality.

When to Use the Subjunctive

The subjunctive almost always appears in a subordinate clause (after que) when the main clause expresses one of these triggers:

Wishes & Desires

• Quiero que tú vengas. — I want you to come.
• Espero que llueva. — I hope it rains.

Emotions & Feelings

• Me alegra que estés aquí. — I'm glad you're here.
• Tengo miedo de que pierdan. — I'm afraid they'll lose.

Doubt & Denial

• Dudo que sea verdad. — I doubt it's true.
• No creo que pueda venir. — I don't think he can come.

Impersonal Expressions

• Es importante que estudies. — It's important that you study.
• Es posible que nieve. — It's possible it will snow.

Requests & Commands

• Te pido que hables más despacio. — I ask you to speak more slowly.

Present Subjunctive: Regular Conjugation

The trick: take the yo form of the present indicative, drop the -o, and swap the vowel.

• -AR verbs → use -e endings
• -ER / -IR verbs → use -a endings

-AR: hablar (yo hablo → habl-)

-ER: comer (yo como → com-)

-IR: vivir (yo vivo → viv-)

Common Irregular Stems

Some verbs have irregular yo forms, which carry into the subjunctive:

• tener → yo tengo → teng- → tenga, tengas…
• decir → yo digo → dig- → diga, digas…
• conocer → yo conozco → conozc- → conozca, conozcas…

A few verbs are fully irregular in the subjunctive:

Indicative vs Subjunctive

Practice