Forms of the Present Subjunctive
Summary of how to form the present subjunctive Start with the first person singular (yo form) of the present indicative.
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The subjunctive is used in various ways; for example, it appears in all negative commands as well as all formal commands, and is used in dependent clauses to indicate doubt, non-existence, or an emotional reaction. Other handouts will deal with the various uses; this one will deal only with the formation of the present subjunctive.
-ar verbs: -e, -es, -e, -emos, -éis, -en -er and -ir verbs: -a, -as, -a, -amos, -áis, -an
hable hablemos coma comamos viva vivamos hables habléis comas comáis vivas viváis hable hablen coma coman viva vivan
These verbs experience the same stem changes as the present indicative; that is, the stem vowel changes into a diphthong whenever it is stressed. To put it another way, the vowel in the stem changes in all forms except those for nosotros and vosotros.
e -> ie pensar: piense, pienses, piense, pensemos, penséis, piensen [Sample verbs: cerrar (close), *comenzar (begin), *empezar (begin), encender (burn, turn on), entender (understand), *negar (deny), pensar (think), perder (lose), querer (want), sentar (sit)]
o -> ue mover: mueva, muevas, mueva, movamos, mováis, muevan [Sample verbs: acordar (remember), *almorzar (lunch), apostar (bet), colgar (hang up), contar (count, relate), costar (cost), demostrar (demonstrate), encontrar (find), llover (rain), mostrar (show), mover (move), poder (be able), recordar (remember), volver (return)]
u -> ue jugar: juegue, juegues, juegue, juguemos, juguéis, jueguen Jugar (to play) and its compounds is the only one verb which has this change; note that it also undergoes an orthographic change (g -> gu) to maintain the hard “g” sound.
In the nosotros and vosotros forms -ir stem changing verbs show a special change; the stem vowel is reduced to a single vowel: o -> ue -> u; e -> ie -> i. The other forms undergo the same changes as in the present indicative (a stem vowel change occurs whenever the stem vowel is stressed, that is, in all forms except for nosotros and vosotros).
o -> ue -> u dormir: duerma, duermas, duerma, durmamos, durmáis, duerman [Sample verbs: dormir (sleep) and morir (die)]
e -> ie -> i sentir: sienta, sientas, sienta, sintamos, sintáis, sientan [Sample verbs: consentir (consent), convertir (convert), herir (injure), preferir (prefer), mentir (lie) and sentir (feel, regret), and sugerir (suggest)]
e -> i -> i pedir: pida, pidas, pida, pidamos, pidáis, pidan [Sample verbs: competir (compete), *conseguir (get), *corregir (correct), despedir (say goodbye, dismiss), *distinguir (distinguish), *elegir (elect), medir (measure), pedir (request), reír (laugh), *repetir (repeat), *seguir (follow, continue), servir (serve), and vestir (dress)] *Spelling (or orthographic) change also involved. See section 5.
First conjugation (-ar) verbs whose stem ends in -c, -g, or -z undergo a spelling change, as do -er and -ir verbs whose stem ends in -gu or -g. These changes are necessary to preserve the sound occurring in the infinitive.
-car: c -> qu buscar: busque, busques, busque, busquemos, busquéis, busquen [Sample verbs: atacar (attack), buscar (look for), clasificar (classify), criticar (criticize), indicar (indicate), practicar (practice), publicar (publish), sacar (take out), secar (dry), tocar (touch, play)]
-gar: g -> gu pagar: pague, pagues, pague, paguemos, paguéis, paguen [Sample verbs: cargar (load, charge), castigar (punish), entregar (deliver), *jugar (play), obligar (oblige), pagar (pay), pegar (hit), and tragar (swallow)]
-zar: z -> c abrazar: abrace, abraces, abrace, abracemos, abracéis, abracen [Sample verbs: abrazar (hug), bautizar (baptize), cazar (hunt), *comenzar (begin), *empezar (begin), lanzar (throw), rechazar (reject), rezar (pray), and simbolizar (simbolize)]
-guir: gu -> g distinguir: distinga distingas distinga distingamos distingáis distiguen [Sample verbs: *conseguir (get), distinguir (distinguish), *perseguir (persecute), and *seguir (follow, continue)]
-gir: g -> j dirigir: dirija, dirijas, dirija, dirijamos, dirijáis, dirijan [Sample verbs: *corregir (correct), dirigir (direct), *elegir (elect), exigir (demand), fingir (pretend), and *regir (rule)] *Stem change also involved. See sections 3 and 4.
Verbs which in the present indicative have a special yo form ending in an -o use the stem of that form for all the present subjunctive forms: Verbs with the addition of a -g- in the yo form:
decir say digo: diga, digas, diga, digamos, digáis, digan hacer do hago: haga, hagas, haga, hagamos, hagáis, hagan oír hear oigo: oiga, oigas, oiga, oigamos, oigáis, oigan poner put: pongo: pongas, ponga, ponga, pongamos, pongáis, pongan salir go out: salgo salga, salgas, salga, salgamos, salgáis, salgan tener have: tengo tenga, tengas, tenga, tengamos, tengáis, tengan traer bring: traigo traiga, traigas, traiga, traigamos, traigáis, traigan valer be worth: valgo valga, valgas, valga, valgamos, valgáis, valgan venir come: vengo venga, vengas, venga, vengamos, vengáis, vengan
Verbs with the infinitive ending -cer (with -zco in the yo form):
conocer know conozco: conozca, conozcas, conozca, etc. nacer be born nazco: nazca, nazcas, nazca, etc. obedecer obey obedezco: obedezca, obedezcas, obedezca, etc. pertenecer belong pertenezco: pertenezca, pertenezcas, pertenezca, etc.
Special case: ver (original stem was ve-):
ver see veo: vea, veas, vea, veamos, veáis, vean
Verbs whose first person singular form of the present indicative does not end in -o have irregular present subjunctive forms:
dar give doy dé, des, dé, demos, deis, den estar be estoy esté, estés, esté, estemos, estéis, estén haber have he haya, hayas, haya, hayamos, hayáis, hayan saber know sé sepa, sepas, sepa, sepamos, sepáis, sepan ser be soy sea, seas, sea, seamos, seáis, sean ir go voy vaya, vayas, vaya, vayamos, vayáis, vayan
| Contact: Fred F. Jehle | |
| Indiana University - Purdue University Ft. Wayne | |
| Fort Wayne, IN 46805-1499 USA | URL: http://users.ipfw.edu/jehle/courses/subjfrms.htm |