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LEARN SPANISH PRESENT 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 present 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)

To form the present 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)	-e
tú (You)	-es
él, ella, usted (he, she, you formal)	-e
nosotros, nosotras (we)	-emos
vosotros, vosotras (you all)	-éis
ellos, ellas, (they) ustedes (you all formal)	-en

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)	hable (I speak)
tú (you)	hables (you speak)
él, ella, usted (he, she, you formal)	hable (he, she speaks)
nosotros, nosotras (we)	hablemos (we speak)
vosotros, vosotras (you all)	habléis (you all speak)
ellos, ellas, (they) ustedes (you all formal)	hablen (they speak)

For verbs ending in -er:

yo (I)	-a
tú (You)	-as
él, ella, usted (he, she, you formal)	-a
nosotros, nosotras (we)	-amos
vosotros, vosotras (you all)	-áis
ellos, ellas, (they) ustedes (you all formal)	-an

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)	corra (I run)
tú (you)	corras (you run)
él, ella, usted (he, she, you formal)	corra (he, she runs)
nosotros, nosotras (we)	corramos (we run)
vosotros, vosotras (you all)	corráis (you all run)
ellos, ellas, (they) ustedes (you all formal)	corran (they run)

For verbs ending in -ir:

yo (I)	-a
tú (You)	-as
él, ella, usted (he, she, you formal)	-a
nosotros, nosotras (we)	-amos
vosotros, vosotras (you all)	-áis
ellos, ellas, (they) ustedes (you all formal)	-an

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)	añada (I add)
tú (you)	añadas (you add)
él, ella, usted (he, she, you formal)	añada (he, she adds)
nosotros, nosotras (we)	añadamos (we add)
vosotros, vosotras (you all)	añadáis (you all add)
ellos, ellas, (they) ustedes (you all formal)	añadan (they add)

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:

Cerrar	To Close
yo cierre	I close
tú cierres	you close
el cierre	he closes
nosotros cerremos	we close
vosotros cerréis	you all close
ellos cierren	they close

SOME GENERAL USES

We use the present simple of the subjunctive mood to express opinions or hypothesis about possible actions.

Example

No creo que María venga esta tarde a trabajar.
I do not think María will come to work this afternoon.

Te llamaré cuando termine.
I will call you when I finish.

No creo que vayamos al cine.
I do not think that we will go to the cinema.

We also use the present simple of the subjunctive mood to express a wish or hope we might have.

Example

Ojalá nieve esta Navidad.
I wish it snowed this Christmas.

Espero que Mary esté en su casa ahora.
I hope Mary is at home now.

The present simple of the subjunctive mood is also used to give orders or commands.

Example

Quiero que vengas ahora mismo.
I want you to come right now.

Te pido que hagas eso por mí.
I am asking you to do that for me.

We use the present simple of the subjunctive mood to place actions that have not happened in the future.

Example

Cuando termine iré a la biblioteca.
When I finish I will go to the library.

Llámame cuando llegues, por favor.
Call me when you arrive, please.