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página en Español - See this page in Spanish.LEARN SPANISH "PRETÉRITO IMPERFECTO" (PAST SIMPLE) (Pretérito Imperfecto - Past Simple) SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD
When we translate the tenses corresponding to the Spanish subjunctive mood into English we will do it according to the context. We always have to interpret the sentence and translate accordingly.
Before we study the pretérito imperfecto (past simple) of the subjunctive mood we
need to learn some basic concepts about Spanish verbs. Spanish verbs are always
either regular or irregular as it happens with English verbs. All Spanish verbs
end either in "-ar", "-er" or "-ir".
These are the three Spanish conjugations.
Example
Hablar (to speak), Correr (to run), Añadir (to add)
The pretérito imperfecto (past simple) of the subjunctive mood has two possible
forms for each person of the verb. To form the pretérito imperfecto (past simple)
of the subjunctive mood, we need to take the verb as we find it in the dictionary.
Then we will remove the last two letters and we will add the appropriate ending
for each person.
Example
For the verbs ending in -ar:
| yo (I) | -ara o -ase |
| tú (You) | -aras o -ases |
| él, ella, usted (he, she, you formal) | -ara o -ase |
| nosotros, nosotras (we) | -áramos o -ásemos |
| vosotros, vosotras (you all) | -arais o -aseis |
| ellos, ellas, (they) ustedes (you all formal) | -aran o -asen |
Example: We take the verb "hablar" (to speak). We remove the "-ar": We are left with habl- (the stem) and then we add the personal endings.
| hablar | hablar-- |
| yo (I) | Hablara o hablase (I spoke) |
| tú (you) | Hablaras o hablases (you spoke) |
| él, ella, usted (he, she, you formal) | Hablara o hablase (he, she spoke) |
| nosotros, nosotras (we) | Habláramos o hablásemos (we spoke) |
| vosotros, vosotras (you all) | Hablarais o hablaseis (you all spoke) |
| ellos, ellas, (they) ustedes (you all formal) | Hablaran o hablasen (they spoke) |
For verbs ending in -er:
| yo (I) | -iera o -iese |
| tú (You) | -ieras o -ieses |
| él, ella, usted (he, she, you formal) | -iera o -iese |
| nosotros, nosotras (we) | -iéramos o -iésemos |
| vosotros, vosotras (you all) | -ierais o -ieseis |
| ellos, ellas, (they) ustedes (you all formal) | -ieran o -iesen |
Example: We take the verb "correr" (to run). We remove the "-er": We are left with corr- (the stem) and then we add the personal endings.
| correr | correr-- |
| yo (I) | corriera o corriese (I ran) |
| tú (you) | corrieras o corrieses (you ran) |
| él, ella, usted (he, she, you formal) | corriera o corriese (he, she ran) |
| nosotros, nosotras (we) | Corriéramos o corriésemos (we ran) |
| vosotros, vosotras (you all) | Corrierais o corrieseis (you all ran) |
| ellos, ellas, (they) ustedes (you all formal) | Corrieran o corriesen (they ran) |
For verbs ending in -ir:
| yo (I) | -iera o -iese |
| tú (You) | -ieras o -ieses |
| él, ella, usted (he, she, you formal) | -iera o -iese |
| nosotros, nosotras (we) | -iéramos o -iésemos |
| vosotros, vosotras (you all) | -ierais o -ieseis |
| ellos, ellas, (they) ustedes (you all formal) | -ieran o -iesen |
Example: We take the verb "añadir" (to add). We remove the "-ir": We are left with añad- (the stem) and then we add the personal endings.
| añadir | añadir-- |
| yo (I) | Añadiera o añadiese (I added) |
| tú (you) | Añadieras o añadieses (you added) |
| él, ella, usted (he, she, you formal) | Añadiera o añadiese (he, she added) |
| nosotros, nosotras (we) | Añadiéramos o añadiésemos (we added) |
| vosotros, vosotras (you all) | Añadierais o añadieseis (you all added) |
| ellos, ellas, (they) ustedes (you all formal) | Añadieran o añadiesen (they added) |
The differences between the persons "tú" (you), "vosotros" (you all), "usted" (you formal) and "ustedes" (you all formal) are explained in Spanish Personal Pronouns.
Some of the irregular verbs will be conjugated exactly in the same form, adding the same sets of endings; the only difference is that they will have some spelling changes in the stem of the verb. ***Remember*** Spanish Irregular verbs can be highly irregular and the general rule is "The rules do not apply".
Example:
| Leer | To Read |
| yo leyera o leyese | I read |
|
tú leyeras o leyeses |
you read |
| el leyera o leyese | he read |
| nosotros leyéramos o leyésemos | we read |
| vosotros leyerais o leyeseis | you all read |
| ellos leyeran o leyesen | they read |
SOME GENERAL USES
We use the pretérito imperfecto (past simple) of the subjunctive mood to express
wishes or actions that could take place.
Example
Si estudiara más, seguramente aprobaría.
If she studied more, she would probably pass
Si yo fuera tú, haría más deporte.
If I were you, I would do more sport
Si yo viviera cerca del mar, iría todas las tardes a la playa.
If I lived by the sea, I would go to the beach every evening
Si fuera rico, me compraría una mansión en una isla desierta.
If I were rich, I would buy a mansion on a desert island
We can also use the pretérito imperfecto (past simple) of the subjunctive mood to
express a possible action in the past. This past action might not be completed and
that action might be an idea or wish.
Example
Quería que termináramos el proyecto ayer.
I wanted us to finish the project yesterday
Me habría gustado que vinierais a la fiesta.
I would have liked that you had come to the party
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