In this article, we will practice regular Present Subjunctive in Spanish. As you may know, verbal mood refers to the way speakers relate to what they say. Spanish has three moods: the indicative, the imperative, and the subjunctive. We use the indicative mood to talk about reality in the past, present and future. The imperative mood is used to give direct commands or tell someone to do something. Today you’ll learn more about the third and last mood: the subjunctive, which is used to give negative commands, express hopes or wishes.
Spanish verbs are conjugated depending on their endings (-
Present Subjunctive –Ar Verbs
Form the regular Present Subjunctive in Spanish by taking the
| Cant | Pens | Encontr |
| cant cant cant cant cant cant | p p p pens pens p | enc enc enc encontr encontr enc |
Espero que Teresa cante con Luisa.
I hope Teresa will sing with Luisa.
Quiero que tú pienses en nuestro musical.
I want you to think in our musical.
Todas deseamos que Luis encuentre trabajo.
We all hope Luis finds a job.
¿Queréis que nosotras cantemos en el coche?
Do you want us to sing in the car?
Espero que penséis en una solución.
I hope you think of a solution.
No queréis que ellos encuentren vuestros juguetes.
You don’t want them to find your toys.
Present Subjunctive –Er and –Ir Verbs
To conjugate regular –
Have a look at the how the verbs ending in –
| Com | Quer | Pod |
| com com com com com com | qu qu qu quer quer qu | p p p pod pod p |
Mi madre no quiere que yo coma chocolate.
My mother doesn’t want me to eat chocolate.
Espero que tú quieras comprar algo.
I hope you want to buy anything.
Espero que él pueda verla hoy.
I hope he can see her today.
Él quiere que comamos en un restaurante.
He would like us to eat at a restaurant.
No creo que vosotros queráis viajar.
I don’t think you want to travel.
Esperas que ellos puedan visitarte pronto.
You hope they are able to visit you soon.
Now let’s see examples of –
| Viv | Ped | Re |
| viv viv viv viv viv viv | p p p p p p | r r r r r r |
Mi padre quiere que yo viva cerca de casa.
My father wants me to live near home.
No creo que tú le pidas dinero a tu abuela.
I don’t think you ask your grandma for money.
Espero que ella se ría un poco en el circo.
I hope she laughs a little in the circus.
Espero que María viva feliz en Argentina.
I hope María lives happily in Argentina.
Quiero que pidáis ayuda a vuestros amigos.
I want you to ask your friends for help.
Dudo que se rían con esa broma tan mala.
I doubt they’ll laugh at such a bad joke.
Uses of Regular Present Subjunctive in Spanish
As a general rule, this mood is used to talk about hopes and wishes when someone else is involved. For example, compare these two sentences with the verb
Yo quiero bailar en el espectáculo.
I want to dance in the show.
Yo quiero que Elena baile en el espectáculo.
I want Elena to dance in the show.
As you can see, the infinitive is used when the subject is the same for both verbs. However, when the subject is not the same, you should use the clause
Espero que ella compre un traje de noche elegante.
I hope she will buy an elegant evening dress.
Esperamos que la modista termine los vestidos.
We hope the dressmaker finishes the dresses.
Pablo, quiero que hables de la profesora.
Pablo, I want you to talk about the teacher.
El conductor no quiere que los niños canten.
The driver doesn’t want the kids to sing.
Exercises
Now you know how to form regular Present Subjunctive in Spanish. Let’s do some exercises to practice these verb forms.