Spanish Present Subjunctive: Uses, Triggers and Practice

What the Spanish subjunctive means

The present subjunctive expresses uncertainty, desire, emotion, doubt, necessity, or influence. It often appears after que when one subject reacts to or influences another subject.

How to form the present subjunctive

Opposite endings

Start from the yo form of the present tense, remove -o, and add the opposite endings.

Spelling and stem changes

Spelling changes preserve sound: buscar becomes busque, llegar becomes llegue, and empezar becomes empiece.

Common present subjunctive triggers

Irregular present subjunctive forms

Memorize the most common irregular forms: sea, vaya, haya, sepa, esté, and dé.

Indicative vs subjunctive

Creo que viene. I think he is coming. No creo que venga. I do not think he is coming.

Present subjunctive examples

• Espero que aprendas rápido. I hope you learn quickly.
• Es importante que escribas bien. It is important that you write well.
• No creo que tenga tiempo. I do not think he has time.

Common subjunctive mistakes

• Using subjunctive when the subject does not change: Quiero estudiar, not quiero que yo estudie.
• Using subjunctive after certainty: Creo que viene, not creo que venga.
• Confusing hable with hablé.
• Forgetting accents in dé and esté.
• Using indicative endings after a subjunctive trigger.
• Writing si tenga tiempo for a normal condition; use si tengo tiempo.
• Mixing present and imperfect subjunctive forms.

Practice the present subjunctive

1. Quiero que tú / hablar: ______
2. Espero que ella / comer: ______
3. Es importante que nosotros / vivir: ______
4. Dudo que él / ser: ______
5. Quiero que tú / ir: ______
6. No creo que ella / estar: ______
7. Es bueno que yo / saber: ______
8. Necesito que usted / dar: ______