{"id":21359,"date":"2025-10-04T02:52:39","date_gmt":"2025-10-04T00:52:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/conexionsp.com\/quiero-que-lo-aprendas-the-present-subjunctive\/"},"modified":"2025-10-25T06:32:58","modified_gmt":"2025-10-25T04:32:58","slug":"quiero-que-lo-aprendas-the-present-subjunctive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/conexionsp.com\/en\/quiero-que-lo-aprendas-the-present-subjunctive\/","title":{"rendered":"Quiero que lo aprendas: the Present Subjunctive"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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s we saw in the previous article, the subjunctive mood is a verb mood used in Spanish to express hypothetical situations, desires, uncertainty, etc. In this article we will see regular and irregular conjugation in the present subjunctive and what we use the present subjunctive for in Spanish. Let's go!\n<\/p>\n\t<\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Regular conjugation:<\/strong> it is obtained by removing the ending from infinitive verbs (-ar, -er, -ir) to obtain the stem and adding the following endings to it:<\/p>

1st group: hablar (to speak).<\/b><\/p>

yo hable<\/b><\/p>

t\u00fa hables<\/b><\/p>

\u00e9l\/ella\/usted hable<\/b><\/p>

nosotros\/nosotras hablemos<\/b><\/p>

vosotros\/vosotras habl\u00e9is<\/b><\/p>

ellos\/ellas\/ustedes hablen<\/b><\/p>

2nd group: comer (to eat).<\/b><\/p>

yo coma<\/b><\/p>

t\u00fa comas<\/b><\/p>

\u00e9l\/ella\/usted coma<\/b><\/p>

nosotros\/nosotras comamos<\/b><\/p>

vosotros\/vosotras com\u00e1is<\/b><\/p>

ellos\/ellas\/ustedes coman<\/b><\/p>

3rd group: vivir (to live).<\/b><\/p>

yo viva<\/b><\/p>

t\u00fa vivas<\/b><\/p>

\u00e9l\/ella\/usted viva<\/b><\/p>

nosotros\/nosotras vivamos<\/b><\/p>

vosotros\/vosotras viv\u00e1is<\/b><\/p>

ellos\/ellas\/ustedes vivan<\/b><\/p>

As you can see, the endings for the 2nd and 3rd groups are the same.<\/p>

Irregular conjugation:<\/strong> there are many irregular verbs in the present subjunctive. We will see below the most frequently used ones in the language.<\/p>

Completely irregular verbs.<\/strong><\/p>

Ser (to be): <\/b>yo sea, t\u00fa seas, \u00e9l\/ella\/usted sea, nosotros\/nosotras seamos, vosotros\/vosotras se\u00e1is, ellos\/ellas\/ustedes sean<\/p>

Ir (to go): <\/b>vaya, vayas, vaya, vayamos, vay\u00e1is, vayan<\/p>

Haber (to have, auxiliary): <\/b>haya, hayas, haya, hayamos, hay\u00e1is, hayan<\/p>

Saber (to know): <\/b>sepa, sepas, sepa, sepamos, sep\u00e1is, sepan<\/p>

Estar (to be): <\/b>est\u00e9, est\u00e9s, est\u00e9, estemos, est\u00e9is, est\u00e9n<\/p>

Dar (to give): <\/b>d\u00e9, des, d\u00e9, demos, deis, den<\/p>

Verbs with vowel changes.<\/strong><\/p>

Change e -> ie, o -> ue.<\/strong><\/p>

These changes occur in all persons except the 1st and 2nd plural.<\/p>

e -> ie Pensar (to think):<\/b> piense, pienses, piense, pensemos, pens\u00e9is, piensen<\/p>

e -> ie Cerrar (to close):<\/b>cierre, cierres, cierre, cerremos, cerr\u00e9is, cierren<\/p>

o -> ue Poder (to can):<\/b>pueda, puedas, pueda, podamos, pod\u00e1is, puedan<\/p>

o -> ue Contar (to tell):<\/b>cuente, cuentes, cuente, contemos, cont\u00e9is, cuenten<\/p>

Other common examples:<\/strong> Querer (to want), Sentir (to feel), Volver (to return), Jugar (to play).<\/p>

The case of dormir (to sleep):<\/strong> duerma, duermas, duerma, durmamos<\/strong>, durm\u00e1is<\/strong>, duerman.
The case of oler (to smell):<\/strong> h<\/strong>uela, h<\/strong>uelas, h<\/strong>uela, olamos, ol\u00e1is, h<\/strong>uelan.<\/p>

Change e -> i.<\/strong><\/p>

This change (e -> i) occurs in all persons without exception.<\/p>

Pedir (to ask for):<\/b> pida, pidas, pida, pidamos, pid\u00e1is, pidan<\/p>

Seguir (to follow):<\/b> siga, sigas, siga, sigamos, sig\u00e1is, sigan<\/p>

Repetir (to repeat):<\/b> repita, repitas, repita, repitamos, repit\u00e1is, repitan<\/p>

Vestir (to dress):<\/b> vista, vistas, vista, vistamos, vist\u00e1is, vistan<\/p>

Other common examples:<\/strong> Servir (to serve), Decir (to say), Competir (to compete).<\/p>

Verbs with change ui -> uy.<\/strong><\/p>

Huir (to flee): <\/b>huya, huyas, huya, huyamos, huy\u00e1is, huyan.<\/p>

Other common examples:<\/strong> Concluir (to conclude), Construir (to build), Contribuir (to contribute), Destruir (to destroy), Influir (to influence)<\/p>

Verbs with consonant changes.<\/strong><\/p>

These verbs are irregular in the first person of the present indicative (yo), and that irregularity extends to the entire subjunctive.<\/p>

Verbs with -go in “yo” in the present indicative.<\/strong><\/p>

Tener (to have, tengo):<\/b> tenga, tengas, tenga, tengamos, teng\u00e1is, tengan<\/p>

Venir (to come, vengo):<\/b> venga, vengas, venga, vengamos, veng\u00e1is, vengan<\/p>

Salir (to go out, salgo):<\/b> salga, salgas, salga, salgamos, salg\u00e1is, salgan<\/p>

Poner (to put, pongo):<\/b> ponga, pongas, ponga, pongamos, pong\u00e1is, pongan<\/p>

Hacer (to do, make, hago):<\/b> haga, hagas, haga, hagamos, hag\u00e1is, hagan<\/p>

Decir (to say, digo):<\/b> diga, digas, diga, digamos, dig\u00e1is, digan<\/p>

O\u00edr (to hear, oigo):<\/b> oiga, oigas, oiga, oigamos, oig\u00e1is, oigan<\/p>

Caer (to fall, caigo):<\/b> caiga, caigas, caiga, caigamos, caig\u00e1is, caigan<\/p>

Traer (to bring, traigo):<\/b> traiga, traigas, traiga, traigamos, traig\u00e1is, traigan<\/p>

Verbs with -zco in yo (Ending -acer, -ecer, -ocer, -ucir).<\/strong><\/p>

Conocer (to know, conozco):<\/b> conozca, conozcas, conozca, conozcamos, conozc\u00e1is, conozcan<\/p>

Crecer (to grow up, crezco):<\/b> crezca, crezcas, crezca, crezcamos, crezc\u00e1is, crezcan<\/p>

Nacer (to be born, nazco): <\/b>nazca, nazcas, nazca, nazcamos, nazc\u00e1is, nazcan<\/p>

Traducir (to translate, traduzco):<\/b> traduzca, traduzcas, traduzca, traduzcamos, traduzc\u00e1is, traduzcan<\/p>

Producir (to produce, produzco):<\/b> produzca, produzcas, produzca, produzcamos, produzc\u00e1is, produzcan<\/p>

Some verbs change their spelling to maintain the sound:<\/strong><\/p>

Buscar (to look for, c\u2192qu): <\/b>busque, busques, busque, busquemos, busqu\u00e9is, busquen<\/p>

Llegar (to arrive, g\u2192gu): <\/b>llegue, llegues, llegue, lleguemos, llegu\u00e9is, lleguen<\/p>

Broadly speaking, following these rules you will be able to conjugate any irregular verb in the present indicative. Of course, I’m not going to list all the irregular verbs conjugated here, it wouldn’t make sense since finding their conjugation is not difficult at all.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Expressing desires:<\/strong> with verbs like querer, desear, esperar, and expressions like ojal\u00e1.<\/p>

Quiero que vengas<\/strong> a mi casa<\/em> (I want you to come to my house).
Espero que tengas<\/strong> un buen d\u00eda<\/em> (I hope you have a good day).
Deseo que seas<\/strong> muy feliz<\/em> (I wish you to be very happy).
Ojal\u00e1 llueva<\/strong> ma\u00f1ana<\/em> (I hope it rains tomorrow).<\/p>

Expressing doubts or uncertainty:<\/strong> with dudar, creer, pensar, no estar seguro de, etc.<\/p>

Dudo que llegue<\/strong> a tiempo<\/em> (I doubt he\/she will arrive on time).
No estoy seguro de que sea<\/strong> verdad<\/em> (I’m not sure it’s true).
No creo que llueva<\/strong> ma\u00f1ana<\/em> (I don’t think it will rain tomorrow).<\/p>

In these cases, with creer, pensar, estar seguro de, etc., if the sentence is affirmative we use the indicative:<\/p>

Estoy seguro de que es<\/strong> verdad<\/em> (I’m sure it’s true).
Creo que ma\u00f1ana llover\u00e1<\/strong><\/em> (I think it will rain tomorrow).<\/p>

Expressing emotions:<\/strong> with verbs like alegrarse, gustar, encantar, molestar, preocupar, temer, tener miedo.<\/p>

Me alegra que est\u00e9s<\/strong> aqu\u00ed<\/em> (I’m glad you’re here).
Me gusta que cocines<\/strong> para m\u00ed<\/em> (I like that you cook for me).
Me preocupa que no estudies<\/strong> suficiente<\/em> (I’m worried you don’t study enough).
Temo que haya<\/strong> problemas<\/em> (I’m afraid there will be problems).<\/p>

Giving orders, advice and recommendations:<\/strong> with verbs like aconsejar, recomendar, sugerir, pedir, ordenar, prohibir, permitir.<\/p>

Te aconsejo que estudies<\/strong> m\u00e1s<\/em> (I advise you to study more).
El m\u00e9dico recomienda que hagas<\/strong> ejercicio<\/em> (The doctor recommends you exercise).
Te pido que seas<\/strong> puntual<\/em> (I ask you to be punctual).
Te prohibo que fumes<\/strong> aqu\u00ed<\/em> (I forbid you to smoke here).<\/p>

Expressing necessity, possibility or importance: with impersonal expressions such as:<\/strong> es necesario, es importante, es posible, es probable, es imposible, es mejor, es bueno, es malo.<\/p>

Es necesario que hables<\/strong> con ella<\/em> (It’s necessary that you talk to her).
Es importante que sepas<\/strong> la verdad<\/em> (It’s important that you know the truth).
Es posible que llueva<\/strong> esta tarde<\/em> (It’s possible it will rain this afternoon).
Es mejor que salgas<\/strong> temprano<\/em> (It’s better that you leave early).<\/p>

Expressing future actions:<\/strong> when there is uncertainty about when they will occur. With conjunctions like cuando, en cuanto, tan pronto como, antes de que, despu\u00e9s de que, hasta que.<\/p>

Cuando llegues<\/strong>, ll\u00e1mame <\/em>(When you arrive, call me).
Te llamar\u00e9 en cuanto tenga<\/strong> noticias<\/em> (I’ll call you as soon as I have news).
Espera aqu\u00ed hasta que yo vuelva<\/strong><\/em> (Wait here until I come back).<\/p>

To express purpose or goal:<\/strong> with conjunctions like para que, a fin de que.<\/p>

Cocino para que t\u00fa comas<\/strong><\/em> (I cook so that you can eat).
Hablo despacio a fin de que me comprendas<\/strong><\/em> (I speak slowly so that you understand me).<\/p>

To express condition or concession:<\/strong> with conjunctions like: aunque, a menos que, con tal de que, sin que, en caso de que.<\/p>

Aunque llueva<\/strong>, iremos a la playa<\/em> (Even if it rains, we’ll go to the beach).
Ir\u00e9 a menos que est\u00e9<\/strong> enfermo<\/em> (I’ll go unless I’m sick).
Hazlo sin que nadie te vea<\/strong><\/em> (Do it without anyone seeing you).
En caso de que necesites<\/strong> ayuda, ll\u00e1mame<\/em> (In case you need help, call me).<\/p>

In subordinate clauses with negative or indefinite antecedent.<\/strong><\/p>

Busco un apartamento que tenga<\/strong> tres habitaciones<\/em> (I’m looking for an apartment that has three bedrooms).
No hay nadie que sepa<\/strong> la respuesta<\/em> (There’s no one who knows the answer).
\u00bfConoces a alguien que hable<\/strong> japon\u00e9s?<\/em> (Do you know anyone who speaks Japanese?).<\/p>

We’ve reached the end of this article. I know it seems like a lot of information, but the positive thing about the subjunctive is that it’s used so frequently in the language that with practice one can get used to using it quickly. And I repeat what I wrote in the previous article: the subjunctive is a frequent source of errors in learning the Spanish language, and moreover errors that tend to fossilize: if you say quiero que vienes a mi casa ma\u00f1ana<\/em> instead of quiero que vengas a mi casa ma\u00f1ana<\/em> it’s very likely that the message will be understood, and because of how we Spanish speakers are culturally in general, it’s very likely that this error won’t be corrected. That’s why I repeat my advice, which I myself apply with the people I do language exchanges with: ask the people you interact with in your target languages to correct your errors. I have applied it with good results, although many times the native speakers of my target languages don’t know how to explain to me the grammatical rule by which I made the error I made. And at the risk, of course, of making an error typical of a native speaker, which also exist. But in most cases you will be guided toward the correct path. Here<\/strong> <\/a>I leave you exercises to practice this topic. In the next article in this series we will see the imperfect subjunctive, a verb tense that is also used very frequently in spoken language. Thanks for reading!<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg>Prev<\/span><\/span>Anterior<\/span>No creo que quiera meterme en este l\u00edo: The Subjunctive Mood<\/span><\/span><\/a>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\tSiguiente<\/span>\u00a1No ayude! \u00a1No, ayude! The use of the comma in Spanish<\/span><\/span><\/path><\/svg>Next<\/span><\/span><\/a>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Present Subjunctive in Spanish.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20522,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[144],"tags":[158],"class_list":["post-21359","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-grammar","tag-feed-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/conexionsp.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21359","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/conexionsp.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/conexionsp.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/conexionsp.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/conexionsp.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21359"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/conexionsp.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21359\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21365,"href":"https:\/\/conexionsp.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21359\/revisions\/21365"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/conexionsp.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20522"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/conexionsp.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21359"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/conexionsp.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21359"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/conexionsp.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21359"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}