Spanish (present subjunctive)

present subjunctive

what is the present subjunctive?

present subjunctive (el presente de subjuntivo) is a verb mood used to express doubt, desire, emotion, necessity, or uncertainty. this is the one we did in class when its someone telling you what to do.

in the present subjunctive verbs that end in -AR get changed..

-AR verbs, use:

-e

-es

-e

-emos

-en

Example (-AR): hablar → hable, hables, hable, hablemos, hablen

in the present subjunctive verbs that end in -ER/-IR get changed..

-ER / -IR verbs, use

-a

-as

-a

-amos

-an

Example (-ER): comer → coma, comas, coma, comamos, coman

the following five verbs are irregular in the present subjunctive

Dar- dé, des, dé, demos, den

Ir- vaya, vayas, vaya, vayamos, vayan

Ser- sea, seas, sea, seamos, sean

Estar- esté, estés, esté, estemos, estén

Saber- sepa, sepas, sepa, sepamos, sepan 

What happens to -CAR, -GAR, and -ZAR verbs in the Present Subjunctive?

They change their consonants in all forms to preserve the sound:

-CAR becomes qu (e.g., Buscar - yo busque)

-GAR becomes gu (e.g., Llegar - yo llegue)

-ZAR becomes c (e.g., Empezar - yo empiece)