Do you know the difference between the present indicative and the present subjunctive moods in Spanish? Most simply put, the indicative depicts certainty and objectivity while the subjunctive describes doubt and subjectivity. If you would like to learn about or brush up on these concepts, we suggest lessons from Yabla's Spanish lesson archives on how to use the Spanish present indicative and when to use the Spanish subjunctive, and when you feel ready, test your knowledge with this quiz!

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Present Indicative vs. Subjunctive: Fill in the Blank

In the following sentences, choose the correct present indicative or subjunctive verb to fill in the blank. 

1. David ____ al gimnasio todos los días.

a. va

b. vaya

2.  Espero que María ______ a la fiesta; hace mucho que no la veo. 

a. viene

b. venga

3. Nos alegra mucho de que ____ aquí.

a. estás

b. estés

4. Juan _____ ahora mismo. 

5. Juan estudió muy poco para el examen. Dudo que _____ una buena nota. 

a. saca

b. saque

6. Todos nos vemos afectados por la sequía. Ojalá que ______ pronto. 

a. llueve

b. llueva

7.  Yo te _____ mañana. 

a. llamo

b. llame

8. Los planetas _____ alrededor del sol.

a. giran

b. giren

9. Si quieres ser músico profesional, es muy importante que __________ mucho. 

a. practicas

b. practiques 

10. Recomiendo que _________ Barcelona durante nuestro viaje a España.

a. visitamos

b. visitemos 

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Bonus Round

These tougher bonus round questions include more than one verb in the present indicative and/or subjunctive mood(s), as well more options. Are you ready?! 

11. Yo ______ que Manuel me ______ a la fiesta.

a. quiero, invita

b. quiera, invite

c. quiero, invite

d. quiera, invita

12. Mariela _____ muchas ganas de conocer Brazil. Es seguro que _____ ahí este verano. 

a. tiene, viaja

b. tenga, viaje

c. tiene, viaje

d. tenga, viaja

13. No creo que _______ al evento. Todos ________ muy enfermos. 

a. asistimos, estamos

b. asistamos, estemos

c. asistimos, estemos

d. asistamos, estamos

14. _______ en contacto. Nos _____ pronto. 

a. Estamos, vemos

b. Estemos, veamos

c. Estamos, veamos

d. Estemos, vemos

15. Te ____ que me _____ la verdad, que siempre ____ sincero conmigo. 

a. pido, dices, eres

b. pida, digas, seas

c. pido, digas, seas

d. pida, dices, seas

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Present Indicative vs. Subjunctive Quiz: The Answers

The following are the answers to all of the questions in this Present Indicative vs. Subjunctive Quiz as well as the translations and grammatical justifications for each. 

That's all for this quiz. How did you do?! To better understand the various uses of the Spanish present indicative and subjunctive, we have a plethora of lessons and videos in our archives to assist you! For starters, try Clase Aula Azul's series Pedir deseos (Making Wishes) and Información con subjuntivo e indicativo (Information with Subjunctive and Indicative), Ana Carolina's El modo subjuntivo (The Subjunctive Mood), and Doctora Consejos (Doctor Advice) videos like Subjuntivo y sentimientos (Subjunctive and Feelings) and Subjuntivo y persona ideal (Subjunctive and Ideal Person). In the meantime, we hope you've enjoyed this Present Indicative vs. Subjunctive Quiz, and don't forget to write us with your questions and comments.

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The Spanish conjunction aunque, whose English translations include "although," "even though," "even if," etc., often appears within the constructions aunque + present indicative and aunque + present subjunctive. Although sentences that include said constructions are often structurally similar, the use of either the indicative or the subjunctive with aunque affects their meaning. Additionally (and as usual in Spanish!), the subjunctive construction is slightly more challenging since the meaning of the same sentence could vary depending upon context. Let's take a closer look.

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Aunque + Present Indicative

Aunque + present indicative is used to state facts and is a pretty straight-forward equivalent of similarly truth-stating English sentences with "although" and "even though." Let's see some examples:

aunque terminan en "a", son realmente palabras masculinas.

although they end in "a," they are really masculine words.

Caption 22, Lecciones con Carolina Errores comunes - Part 6

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Aunque es checa la canción, el tema, eh... en Berlín, en Alemania creen [sic] mucha gente que es alemán.

Although the song, the tune, is Czech, um... in Berlin, in Germany, a lot of people think it's German.

Captions 48-49, Hispanoamericanos en Berlín Manuel y El barrilito

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Aunque + Present Subjunctive

In contrast to aunque + present indicative, aunque + present subjunctive conveys different meanings and is used in two different scenarios: 1. In hypothetical situations and 2. When the information being communicated is considered "background information" that the audience already knows. 

Aunque + Present Subjunctive for Hypothetical Situations

In order to understand how the use of the subjunctive with aunque changes the meaning of a sentence, let's take the third example of aunque + present indicative and replace it with aunque + present subjunctive:

Bueno, hay que ser optimista, aunque tenga la impresión de que no me van a dar el trabajo. 

Well, one has to be optimistic, even if I might have the impression that they are not going to give me the job.

The subjunctive version conveys something different than its indicative counterpart because, rather than explicitly stating her impression after a specific job interview, the speaker says more generally that "even though she might have" a particular impression following an interview, she should remain optimistic. Let's take a look at some additional examples of this use of aunque + present subjunctive from the Yabla Spanish library:  

Aunque sea sólo para un fin de semana, para mí, tiene las características esenciales para disfrutar de un viaje,

Even if it's only for a weekend, for me, it has the essential characteristics for enjoying a trip,

Captions 47-49, Lydia de Barcelona Lydia y el festival de cine "Women Mujeres"

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Here, Lydia is saying to an audience of potential tourists to Barcelona that, hypothetically speaking, a visit would be worth it even if they might only have one free weekend. On the other hand, the indicative "Aunque es sólo para un fin de semana" would be used for someone you knew was only visiting Barcelona for one weekend. This is sometimes confusing for English speakers since the phrase "Even if it's only for a weekend" could refer to either situation and is thus a valid translation for both the indicative and subjunctive versions of the sentence. Let's look at one more example:

Aunque no crean, existe el amor a primera vista.

Believe it or not, love at first sight does exist.

Caption 56, El reencuentro Las amigas hablan del trabajo y el amor.

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While Aunque no crean is the Spanish equivalent of the English idiom "Believe it or not," a more literal translation is "Even though you might not believe it" since we don't know whether or not the audience does. 

Aunque + Present Subjunctive for Background Information

Now, let's examine a use of aunque + present subjunctive that might initially seem confusing:

Os recuerdo que las islas Canarias, aunque estén en el océano Atlántico y muy cerca de la costa africana,

I remind you that the Canary Islands, although they're in the Atlantic Ocean and very close to the African coast,

Captions 4-6, Aprendiendo con Silvia Deportes tradicionales canarios - Part 1

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Since what Silvia is saying is a fact (the Canary Islands are most definitely located in the Atlantic Ocean, close to Africa), why does she use the subjunctive? This is because aunque + present subjunctive is also used when the speaker assumes that their audience already knows the information being stated. 

To sum it up: Use the indicative when you want to inform someone about something that you assume is new information for them, and use the subjunctive to say things you believe the receiver already knows. Let's see another example of this use: 

Aunque San Sebastián tenga tres playas, yo siempre hago surf en la Zurriola.

Even though San Sebastian has three beaches, I always surf at Zurriola.

Captions 16-17, Clase Aula Azul Información con subjuntivo e indicativo - Part 2

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As seen here, even if it's a fact that San Sebastián has three beaches, you'd employ the subjunctive tenga for a person you think knows this information and the indicative tiene for a person you believe to be learning it, despite identical English translations. For a detailed explanation of this use of aunque + present subjunctive with a plethora of examples, check out the video series Clase Aula Azul: Información con subjuntivo e indicativo (Aula Azul Class: Information with Subjunctive and Indicative).

Ambiguity with the Aunque + Subjunctive Construction

Sometimes, the meaning of an aunque + subjunctive sentence is ambiguous and, without context, might be impossible to ascertain. Let's take a look at an example that could be understood in more than one way: 

Aunque haga calor, yo voy a usar mi chaqueta nueva. 

On its face, this sentence could have two possible meanings:

1. Even though it might be hot (hypothetically on some particular day in the future), I'm going to wear my new jacket.

2. Even though it (really) is hot (and I know you know it's hot), I'm going to wear my new jacket.

In the second scenario, we assume that the person with whom we are speaking already knows the information; perhaps they are sitting there sweating with us, or maybe they called you to complain about the heat: The main point is that we believe that this is shared information. To determine, however, which of the two aforementioned meanings is intended, context is required, and there may be cases where it could seem to go either way. 

In conclusion, aunque sea el concepto un poco difícil (although the concept might be a bit difficult), we hope that this lesson has made clear to you when to use the constructions aunque + present indicative and aunque + present subjunctive... and don't forget to send us your suggestions and comments!

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How do you translate expressions with words like "whatever," "whenever," and "however" to Spanish? Today, we will explore some simple manners of doing so using the Spanish subjunctive along with certain key words and/or phrases. 

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Whatever

It is fitting that the Spanish subjunctive is employed to express the notion of "whatever" because, in contrast to the more objective indicative, this mood describes things that are subjective, vague, or unknown. That said, the third person singular of the present subjunctive form of the verb ser (to be) appears in the Spanish equivalent of "whatever," lo que sea, which literally means "what it may be." With this in mind, we can use the formula lo que plus a subjunctive verb to convey the idea of "whatever" one may do, think, etc., when what that is not specifically known by the speaker. Let's look at some examples: 

Tú puedes hacer lo que tú quieras porque es tu libro,

You can do whatever you want because it's your book,

Caption 2, Escribiendo un libro Algunos consejos sobre cómo comenzar - Part 3

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Had this speaker said "Tú puedes hacer lo que tú quieres" ("You can do what you want"), in the indicative, he would probably be referring to something specific that this author wanted to do. However, the subjunctive form quieras makes it clear that her possibilities are endless. This is particularly interesting because the English equivalents of these Spanish sentences ("you can do what you want" vs. "whatever you want") do not necessarily make this distinction. Let's see another example:

haré lo que usted me diga.

I'll do whatever you tell me to.

Caption 83, Muñeca Brava 48 - Soluciones - Part 3

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Similarly, had this gentleman said, haré lo que usted me dice, the idea would be "I'll do what you're telling me (specifically) to do" rather than "I'll do absolutely any (perhaps crazy!) thing you might tell me."

Whenever

The idea of "whenever" in Spanish is very similar, and the words cuando (when) and siempre que ("as long as" or literally "always that") can be paired with verbs in the Spanish subjunctive to say "whenever" as in the following caption:

y con eso ya puedes mudarte cuando quieras.

and with that you can then move in whenever you want.

Caption 43, Ricardo La compañera de casa - Part 2

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Again, had the speaker said to his perspective tenant "puedes mudarte cuando quieres" (you can move in when you want), he would most likely be referring to a specific date, perhaps one that she had previously mentioned. However, the subjunctive form cuando quieras lets her know that whatever date she might choose will work fine. Here is one more example: 

Estos ejercicios los puedes realizar en la mañana, tarde o noche, siempre que necesites mover tu cuerpo.

You can do these exercises in the morning, afternoon, or night, whenever you need to move your body.

Captions 7-8, Bienestar con Elizabeth Activar las articulaciones

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Literally meaning "always that you need," siempre que necesites means "whenever you need" or "whenever you might need to move your body," rather than at any specific moment. 

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Wherever

You might have guessed by now that the word donde (where) plus a verb in the Spanish subjunctive can mean "wherever." Let's take a look:

Tú dejas las cosas, donde sea, da igual. 

You leave your things, wherever, it's all the same.

Caption 5, Arume Barcelona

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Here, we can see that donde sea is a popular way of saying simply "wherever," although the literal translation would be "wherever it might be." Let's check out an example with a different verb: 

en el restaurante, en el punto de información o donde estés.

at the restaurant, at the information point or wherever you are.

Caption 26, Natalia de Ecuador Palabras de uso básico

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Like the other expressions we have examined in this lesson, the speaker's intention in this caption is to explain that she would like to help people with basic expressions they might use, not in any specific place, but anywhere at all.  

Whichever

To say "whichever," we can use formulas such as a noun plus que plus a verb in the Spanish subjunctive or a relative pronoun (e.g. el que, la que, los que, or las que, which mean "the one(s)") plus que plus a verb in the Spanish subjunctive. Let's take a look:

Podéis utilizar el verbo que queráis.

You can use whichever verb you want.

Caption 58, Clase Aula Azul Pedir deseos - Part 2

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No pasa nada. Vamos a hacer los que tengamos,

No problem. Let's do whichever ones we have,

Caption 49, Escuela BCNLIP Clase con Javi: el futuro - Part 19

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In the first example, the teacher uses the formula to emphasize the students choice among all of the available verbs, while the second caption communicates that they can practice with any of the possible examples they might have gotten, even if they differ from student to student. 

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However

By "however," we don't mean sin embargo as in the conjunctive adverb, but rather "in whichever way" as in English expressions like "Do it however you see fit." For this purpose, Let's look at some examples in Spanish:

El destino hay que aceptarlo como venga. -¿Qué?

One has to accept destiny however it comes. -What?

Caption 56, Club 10 Capítulo 2 - Part 5

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Of course, we never know "how" destiny will unfold, so it is apt to use the subjunctive to talk about it! Another possible translation for this sentence could be "however it may come." Let's see one more example of this formula:

lo que tienen que hacer es aguantar como puedan las... los golpes de los de la red,

what they have to do is to withstand however they can, the... the hits from the ones by the net,

Caption 46, Escuela de Pádel Albacete Hablamos con José Luis

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Once again, as the ways they might withstand the hits from the players by the net are innumerable, the Spanish subjunctive comes into play. 

Whoever/Whomever

We bet you're getting the hang of this by now, but we'd better show you some examples of how to say "whoever" and "whomever" in Spanish:

No sé, pero quien sea la tiene difícil

I don't know, but whoever it is has got it rough

Captions 7-8, Los Años Maravillosos Capítulo 8 - Part 2

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An alternative translation could be "whoever it may be." 

Nosotras les hacemos la sugerencia a las personas que escuchen el programa

We make the suggestion to whomever listens to the program

Caption 19, Protección ambiental Ni una bolsa más

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These examples demonstrate that the formulas quien(es) or la(s) persona(s) plus que plus a subjunctive verb are the Spanish equivalents of expressions with "whoever" and/or "whomever," which are frequently confused in English ("whoever" is a subject pronoun, while "whomever" is an object pronoun). That said, the manner in which those formulas are translated will depend upon which function they fulfill within the grammatical context. 

Popular Expressions with "However," etc. in Spanish

Sometimes, repetition of the Spanish subjunctive verb is used to emphasize this idea of non-specificity, which we can see in many popular Spanish expressions. You will note that the repetition is not translated, and that another possible translation for such cases is "no matter":

pase lo que pase, yo siempre voy a estar contigo,

no matter what happens, I'm always going to be with you,

Captions 30-31, Confidencial: Asesino al Volante Capítulo 1 - Part 13

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An alternative translation here could be: "Whatever happens, I'm always going to be with you."

Haga lo que haga este tipo, este delincuente, aquí en el país es responsabilidad mía...

Whatever this guy might do, this criminal, here in the country it's my responsibility...

Captions 26-27, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa Capítulo 1 - Part 10

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Here, one might also say "No matter what this guy does." Let's conclude today's lesson with an excerpt from a song by our friend Luis Guitarra, which includes a plethora of similar cases: 

Vivan como vivan Hagan lo que hagan Sueñen con quien sueñen Sean como sean Vayan donde vayan Cuenten o no cuenten Digan lo que digan Salgan con quien salgan Piensen como piensen

No matter how they live No matter what they do No matter who they dream of No matter how they are No matter where they go No matter whether they tell No matter what they say No matter who they go out with No matter how they think

Captions 63-71, Luis Guitarra Somos transparentes

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We hope you've enjoyed this lesson on how to say things like "whatever," "however," "whichever," etc. in Spanish, and don't forget to leave us your suggestions and comments.

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The present subjunctive in Spanish is one of the many verb tenses in the Spanish subjunctive mood. The subjunctive mood is one of three moods in Spanish (the indicative, the imperative, and the subjunctive) that indicates the presence of doubt, emotion, or subjectivity, in contrast to the indicative, which states facts. The focus of today's lesson will be the conjugation of the Spanish present subjunctive tense. 

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An Example of the Present Subjunctive in Spanish: 

Before going on to conjugation, let's see an example of the present subjunctive in Spanish, which typically appears after the present indicative in dependent clauses connected by a coordinating conjunction such as que (that). As a simple example, if you say, "I hope [that] you practice at home" with ustedes (plural you) in Spanish, the correct manner of doing so would be

espero que practiquen en su casa

I hope you guys practice at home

Caption 60, Lecciones de guitarra Con Cristhian - Part 3

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rather than espero que practican en su casa because the verb tense changes from the indicative (practican) to the subjunctive (practiquen) due to the "hope" regarding whether the action will take place. In another lesson, we will explore the many scenarios in which the Spanish subjunctive mood comes into play. 

Conjugating Verbs in the Present Subjunctive in Spanish

The first step in conjugating most verbs in the present subjunctive is to recall the present indicative yo (I) form of the verb. We then remove the -o in order to get the stem and add the corresponding endings for -ar and -er/-ir verbs, which we can think of as the "opposite" of the endings for each verb class in the present indicative. 

Let's use the aforementioned formula to get the stems for three of the most common regular verbs:

Now, let's look at the present subjunctive endings for -ar vs. -er/-ir verbs: 

Armed with this information, we can easily conjugate these verbs in the present subjunctive in Spanish. You will note that in the present subjunctive, the yo form and the él/ella/usted form are exactly the same.

What are grammatical "moods"? Many definitions of grammatical moods in linguistics explain them as features of verbs that describe "modality." But, what is "modality"?

In a nutshell, "modality" refers to a speaker's attitude toward what he or she is saying, which might entail such concepts as possibility, probability, certainty or doubt. "Moods" are not the same as tenses, which convey when things happen, and each of the sixteen Spanish tenses fall into one of the three mood categories. That said, let's delve deeper into the three grammatical moods in Spanish: the indicative, the subjunctive, and the imperative.

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1. The Indicative Mood

Most simply put, the indicative mood describes facts, things about which the speaker is certain, or "the objective truth." Let's take a look at some examples of sentences with verbs in the indicative mood. 

Estoy seguro que voy a poder ayudarla en algo.

I'm sure that I am going to be able to help you with something.

Caption 7, Yago 9 Recuperación - Part 7

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This speaker says in the Spanish present indicative tense that he's seguro (sure) that he will be able to help the person to whom he's speaking. Such phrases referring to certainty like Estoy seguro que (I'm sure that) or even Yo creo que (I believe that) are tip-offs that the verb(s) that follow(s) will be in the indicative because they indicate conviction. However, many examples of verbs in the indicative mood in Spanish won't be quite so straightforward. 

Hablaremos sobre el candombe.

We'll talk about candombe.

Caption 11, Sonido Babel El candombe de Uruguay

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In this example of the future indicative tense in Spanish, the speaker states (with certainty) what it is he will talk about. Let's take a look at an additional example. 

¡Sí! Fuimos a buscar conchas pero no fue fácil encontrarlas.

Yes! We went to look for shells but it wasn't easy to find them.

Caption 13, Guillermina y Candelario El Manglar

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In this final example in the Spanish preterite tense, the speaker clearly states the objective truth about what happened in the past: Fuimos a buscar (We went to look for) seashells, and no fue (it wasn't) easy. Although whether or not something is easy is a subjective concept, it is important to remember that it is the speaker's attitude or belief about what he or she is stating that determines the mood. 

There are ten verb tenses in the Spanish indicative mood: the present, the imperfect, the preterite, the future, the simple conditional, the present perfect, the pluperfect, the past anterior, the conditional perfect, and the future perfect. For a closer look at each of these tenses with examples, we recommend this lesson on the Spanish indicative tenses. 

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2. The Subjunctive Mood

While the indicative conveys certainty and objectivity, the subjunctive conveys such opposing concepts as subjectivity, doubt, wishful thinking, hypothetical situations, and more. Let's take a look at some examples:

No, no, no. No creo que sea muy peligroso

No, no, no. I don't think he's very dangerous,

Caption 55, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa Capítulo 5 - Part 8

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Just like the expression Creo que (I believe that) lets you know that the following verb will be conjugated in the indicative, the phrase No creo que (I don't believe that) is an indicator for the subjunctive. Although we won't enter into verb conjugation in this lesson, we will say that verbs in the subjunctive mood are conjugated differently than in the indicative: for example, sea is the subjunctive conjugation of ser (to be) in third person singular and is thus used in place of the indicative form es. Let's take a look at another example:

de verdad, esperamos que te hayamos podido devolver la alegría.

we really hope that we've been able to give you back your joy.

Caption 58, Tu Voz Estéreo Laura - Part 17

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Here, the indicative present perfect form hemos podido (we've been able) has been replaced with the subjunctive present perfect, hayamos podido, because the speaker is expressing a hope that something has happened rather than stating that it actually has. Let's look at another example of the subjunctive mood in Spanish:

Si yo fuera un hombre, yo pensaría que las mujeres son complicadas.

If I were a man, I would think that women are complicated.

Caption 28, Conjugación El verbo 'pensar'

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This sentence employs a common construction that combines the imperfect subjunctive with the Spanish conditional tense to talk about what "would" happen "were" a hypothetical situation in place. 

Learning all of the situations and/or constructions that require the subjunctive mood in Spanish can be quite challenging for native English speakers since verbs in the subjunctive mood in English rarely change. As a guideline, statements in which the second verb in a construction changes to the subjunctive include wishes like deseo que (I wish that...), emotions like me alegro de que (I'm happy that...), impersonal expressions like es importante que (it's important that...), recommendations like sugiero que (I suggest that...), and doubts like dudo que (I doubt that...), just to name a few. 

The Spanish subjunctive mood encompasses six tenses: the present subjunctive, the imperfect subjunctive, the future subjunctive, the present perfect subjunctive, the pluperfect subjunctive, and the future perfect subjunctive, which are explained in greater detail in this lesson on the subjunctive tenses in Spanish that also touches on our third and final Spanish mood. 

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3. The Imperative Mood 

Understanding the speaker's "attitude" in the imperative mood is less nuanced: one is "ordering" or "commanding" someone else to do something:

¡Hazlo todo de nuevo!

Do it all over again!

Caption 32, Los Años Maravillosos Capítulo 3 - Part 7

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This is an example of a positive, informal command (with tú, or the singular, informal "you") in Spanish. Let's see another example:

Chicos, no me hagan esta broma tan pesada. 

Guys, don't play this very annoying joke on me.

Caption 49, Club 10 Capítulo 1 - Part 1

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Here, we see the negative command that corresponds to the pronoun ustedes (plural "you"). Let's check out one more:

We hope that this lesson has shed some light on the concept of the three grammatical "moods" in Spanish and would like to conclude it with an imperative sentence: No te olvides de dejarnos tus sugerencias y comentarios (Don't forget to leave us your suggestions and comments).

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The use of the Spanish subjunctive can be a source of confusion for native English speakers. However, the easy-to-recall acronym W.E.I.R.D.O. can help you to understand when to use subjunctive in Spanish.

What is the Spanish Subjunctive Mood? 

The subjunctive is one of the three "moods" in Spanish: the indicative, the subjunctive, and the imperative. Most simply put, the imperative encompasses commands, the indicative describes objective or certain actions, and verbs in the subjunctive reflect subjectivity, a lack of certainty, or emotion.

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How Do You Know It's Subjunctive? 

You can tell a Spanish verb is subjunctive because it is conjugated differently than "normal." For example, while Tú hablas means "You speak" in the indicative, if you wish to say, "I hope you speak," the verb changes to hables in the translation Espero que tú hables because the concept of "hoping" something happens is subjunctive. In contrast, while the English language is perfectly capable of expressing these same ideas, there is no difference in the form of the verbs in the equivalent sentences "You speak" and "I hope you speak."

Because the subjunctive is a mood rather than a tense, it might depict actions in the past, present, or future. For this reason, just like in the indicative mood, there are many subjunctive tenses in Spanish. That said, the examples in today's lesson will be in the present subjunctive, which you can learn how to formulate in this lesson on conjugating the present subjunctive in Spanish. 

When to Use Subjunctive in Spanish

The Spanish subjunctive is used in dependent clauses that are often introduced by que or another conjunction. Subjunctive sentences typically involve more than one subject and more than one verb. For example, in our aforementioned sentence: Yo espero que tú hables, there are two subjects, Yo (I) and tú (you), and two verbs, espero (I hope) and hables (you speak), with the subjunctive verb hables appearing in the dependent clause that follows the word que.

The amusing acronym W.E.I.R.D.O., which stands for Wishes, Emotions, Impersonal Expressions, Recommendations, Doubt/Denial, and Ojalá, can help you to remember several contexts that require the subjunctive. In each subcategory, we will introduce you to several verbs that "trigger" the use of the subjunctive.   

1. Wishes

Just because one wishes or hopes things will happen doesn't mean they will, not to mention those actions we ask (or even order!) others to perform. Spanish employs the subjunctive mood to talk about such situations, often using the common formula of a "wishing" verb plus que plus a verb in the present subjunctive. Let's take a look at some examples: 

Si queremos que nuestro café sea más dulce podemos añadir azúcar, nata, leche condensada, miel.

If we want for our coffee to be sweeter we can add sugar, cream, condensed milk, honey.

Captions 25-26, Karla e Isabel Como pedir un café

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Así que, esperamos que lo disfruten, que lo sepan gozar, pero eso sí de una manera muy sana.

So, we hope you enjoy it, that you know how to enjoy it, but mind you in a very healthy way.

Captions 25-26, Los Años Maravillosos Capítulo 6 - Part 1

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Solo te pido que me digas cuál de ellos es Triskas:

I'll just ask for you to tell me which of them is Triskas:

Captions 11-12, Extr@: Extra en español Ep. 5: Ha nacido una estrella - Part 4

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Verbs that fall into this category of describing wishes or desires include desear (to want/wish/desire), esperar (to hope), exigir (to demand/require), insistir (to insist), mandar (to order), necesitar (to need), ordenar (to order), pedir (to ask), preferir (to prefer), and querer (to want).

2. Emotions

Spanish also utilizes the subjunctive mood to talk about one's feeling regarding some action or state, even if it's objectively true. As an example, if you wanted to say "I'm very happy you have a new job," you might use the formula emotion verb plus a conjunction (e.g. que or de que) plus a subjunctive verb to get: Me alegro mucho de que tengas un trabajo nuevo. Let's see some more examples:

Me alegro de que le guste. 

I'm glad you like it.

Caption 15, Los casos de Yabla Problemas de convivencia - Part 2

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A mí lo que me molesta es que tú tengas la verdad de todo. -Loca...

What bothers me is that you have the truth about everything. -Girl...

Caption 54, Yago 9 Recuperación - Part 4

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Note that in this last example, the speaker omits the implied verb estar (to be), using only the adjective encantada to convey her delight as is often done in spoken Spanish.

Some common emotion verbs that invoke the subjunctive include alegrarse (to be happy/glad), enojarse (to be/get angry), encantar (to delight), lamentar (to regret), molestar (to bother), sentir (to be sorry), and sorpender (to surprise), among others. For more ways to talk about feelings in Spanish, we recommend this lesson on expressing emotions in Spanish. 

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3. Impersonal Expressions

Impersonal expressions in both Spanish and English are constructions that do not involve a particular person, for example, Hace viento (It's windy). Impersonal expressions in Spanish that involve the word Es (It's) plus almost any adjective plus the word que are indicators that the verb that follows should be conjugated in the Spanish subjunctive. 

Although the adjectives in such impersonal expressions are innumerable, several popular ones include: agradable (nice), bueno (good), curioso (interesting), dudoso (doubtful), estupendo (great), extraño (strange), importante (important), increíble (amazing), necesario (necessary), probable (probable), raro (strange), urgente (urgent), and vergonzoso (embarrassing). Here are a few examples:

No es necesario que mientas.

It's not necessary for you to lie.

Caption 17, Muñeca Brava 18 - La Apuesta - Part 12

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Although impersonal expressions can typically be positive or negative and still require the subjunctive, as in this last example (no es necesario in lieu of es necesario), the exception is when they state facts. Examples include es verdad que (it's true that), es cierto que (it's certain that), es seguro que (it's sure that) and es un hecho que (it's a fact that). However, the negative versions of these phrases do require the Spanish subjunctive, as we see in the following examples in which only the second sentence calls for the subjunctive switch: 

Es un hecho que él está enfermo (It's a fact that he's sick) = INDICATIVE.

No es un hecho que él esté enfermo (It's not a fact that he's sick) = SUBJUNCTIVE.

4. Recommendations

As with wishes, the fact we can't be sure if the actions we suggest or recommend will come to fruition is expressed with the subjunctive in Spanish. Our formula would thus consist of a "recommending verb" plus que plus a verb in subjunctive. Such "recommending" verbs include but aren't limited to aconsejar (to advise), decir (to tell), dejar (to allow), exigir (to demand), hacer (to make/force), insistir (to insist), mandar (to order), ordenar (to order), prohibir (to forbid), proponer (to propose), recomendar (to recommend), rogar (to beg), sugerir (to suggest), and suplicar (to beg), some of which overlap with the "wishes" category. Let's see some examples: 

te recomiendo que muevas algunos muebles del salón a la cocina.

I recommend that you move some pieces of furniture from the living room to the kitchen.

Captions 32-33, Karla e Isabel Preparar una fiesta

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les aconsejo que vayan a Zipaquirá,

I advise you to go to Zipaquira,

Caption 29, Aprendiendo con Carlos América precolombina - Mitos y leyendas Muiscas

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The Yabla video Escuela Don Quijote- En el aula- Part 1 can teach you even more about using the Spanish subjunctive to give advice.

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5. Doubt and Denial 

Sentences that express doubt and denial also call for the Spanish subjunctive via a similar formula: a doubt/denial verb plus que plus a verb in the subjunctive. Interestingly, although this includes the verb dudar (to doubt) in sentences like Dudo que venga (I doubt he'll come), most of the other verbs in this category are negative, in other words, consist of a verb with "no" in front of it. Examples include: no creer (to not believe), no estar seguro (to not be sure), no parecer (to not seem), no pensar (to not think), and no suponer (to not suppose). Let's see some of these in action:

No, no. No creo que haga falta; eso ya está aclarado.

No, no. I don't think it's necessary; that's already cleared up.

Caption 36, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa Capítulo 4 - Part 5

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No, no me parece que queden bien.

No, it doesn't seem like you fit together well to me.

Caption 41, Misión Chef 2 - Pruebas - Part 5

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On the other hand, the positive versions of these very same verbs (without no) trigger the indicative rather than the subjunctive:

Me parece que es la hora de terminar, ¿eh?

I think it's time to finish, huh?

Caption 76, El Aula Azul La Doctora Consejos: parecer y parecerse

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Creo que necesito ir al médico.

I think I need to go to the doctor.

Caption 4, Ariana Cita médica

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6. Ojalá

Another construction that always goes with the subjunctive is ojalá que (or sometimes just ojalá), which can be translated with such expressions as "I hope," "Let's hope," "If only," and even "God willing." This can be seen in the title of the famous (and very catchy!) tune by Juan Luis Guerra, Ojalá que llueva café en el campo (I Hope it Rains Coffee on the Countryside). Let's watch another couple of examples from our Yabla video library: 

Pues, ojalá que tengáis siempre abiertas las puertas de vuestras casas y de vuestros corazones

Well, I hope that you always have open the doors to your homes and your hearts

Captions 56-57, Luis Guitarra Llegaste tú

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Ojalá que todo siga así.

I hope everything keeps going like that.

Caption 60, El reencuentro Las amigas hablan del trabajo y el amor.

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For more examples, check out Clase Aula Azul's video on the use of ojalá with the subjunctive in Spanish. Let's conclude with one last example:

Bueno, muchas gracias y... y ojalá nos veamos pronto.

Well, thank you very much and... and I hope we see each other soon.

Caption 36, Los Juegos Olímpicos Mario Mola

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Our sentiments exactly! On that note, we hope you've enjoyed this lesson on when to use the subjunctive in Spanish, and don't forget to leave us your suggestions and comments. 

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In past lessons, we have spoken about informal commands and formal commands in Spanish when addressed to one or more people. But, what if we want to give a command to a group of people of which we are a part? That's where the imperative form for nosotros/as ("we") comes in. 

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Meaning of Commands with Nosotros/as

While the meaning of positive and negative commands with tú, usted, ustedes, and vosotros can feel more, well... "commanding" ("Do this!" or "Don't do that!"), the translation for commands with nosotros/as sounds more like a suggestion: "Let's..." do such and such a thing. That said, "let's take a look at" (veamos) a few examples:

Miremos quién era Pablo Escobar.

Let's look at who Pablo Escobar was.

Caption 3, Los Tiempos de Pablo Escobar Capítulo 1 - Part 7

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Comamos una pasta.

Let's eat some pasta.

Caption 74, Sofy y Caro Comida en un restaurante

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y abramos nuestro corazón a otras culturas,

and let's open our hearts to other cultures,

Caption 79, Silvina Una entrevista con la artista

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Conjugating the Imperative with Nosotros in Spanish

Now that we know the meaning of nosotros commands, let's learn how to conjugate them. In order to do so, we should revisit (or learn) how to conjugate verbs in the present subjunctive because the nosotros/as imperative form is the same as the nosotros/as present subjunctive.

To summarize briefly, to conjugate the present subjunctive, we take a verb's stem (most typically the yo form of the verb minus the -o), and add the appropriate endings (-e, -es, -e, -emos, -éis, and -en for -ar verbs and -a, -as, -a, -amos, -áis, and -an for -er and -ir verbs). Let's take a look:

Although these are simple examples with regular verbs, other verbs are a bit more complex. For example, stem-changing verbs like perder (to lose), which changes to pierdo in the present, change stems in the subjunctive in all forms except nosotros/as and vosotros/as, making the conjugation in the nosotros form perdamos (rather than pierdamos). However, the important thing to remember is that the present subjunctive "we" form is the exact same as the nosotros/as command form! So, if you know one, you know the other.

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Negative Commands with Nosotros 

So, how do we tell someone "let's not" (do something)? As Carlos explains to us in the following clip, constructing a negative command with nosostros in Spanish is as easy as adding "no" in front of the affirmative form:

imperativo afirmativo: "Hablemos de este tema", imperativo negativo: "No hablemos de esto con tu mamá".

affirmative imperative: "Hablemos de este tema" [Let's talk about this subject], negative imperative: "No hablemos de esto con tu mamá" [Let's not talk about this with your mom].

Captions 30-32, Carlos explica El modo imperativo 4: Nosotros + reflexivos

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Let's see one more example: 

Así que no perdamos más tiempo

So let's not waste any more time

Caption 11, NPS No puede ser 1 - El concurso - Part 2

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Irregular Nosotros Command Verbs

Of course, verbs that have an irregular form in the present subjunctive also have an irregular form in the nosotros/as imperative form, for example, sepamos for saber, seamos for ser, estemos for estar, etc. So, when we talk about irregular verbs in the nosotros command form, we are talking about verbs whose form deviates from the present subjunctive form. This is only the case for the verb ir (to go) because, to say "Let's go" in Spanish, the present indicative conjugation of nosotros is used rather than the present subjunctive conjugation: 

Vamos, Merycita.

Let's go, Merycita.

Caption 39, Club 10 Capítulo 1 - Part 3

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On the other hand, when we want to say "Let's not go," we do use the subjunctive form, vayamos:

No vayamos al evento.

Let's not go to the event.

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An Alternative Way to Say "Let's" in Spanish

An alternative way to say "Let's" in Spanish is with the following formula:

Ir (to go) conjugated in the nosotros form + a (to) + infinitive verb

Let's take a look at some examples:

¡Vamos a bailar!

Let's dance!

Caption 36, Guillermina y Candelario La competencia de baile - Part 2

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Bueno, vamos a ver.

Well, let's see.

Caption 4, Extr@: Extra en español Ep. 3 - Sam aprende a ligar - Part 2

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¡Vamos a empezar!

Let's begin!

Caption 10, Ana Carolina Gérmenes

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Note that while this very same construction can also mean "we are going to" (do something), you will often be able to tell one's intended meaning from context. For example, in the caption above, ¡Vamos a bailar! has been translated as "Let's dance!" However, if a dance teacher said, Hoy vamos a bailar la cumbia as an explanation of the class's daily agenda, the more likely translation would be "Today, we're going to dance cumbia." That said, there are cases in which the intention of such a statement may be difficult to discern. 

For more on this topic, check out Carlos' video on the imperative with nosotros. We hope you've enjoyed this lesson, and don't forget to leave us your suggestions and comments. 

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Welcome to the second part of this lesson where we touch on all the different Spanish verb tenses! So... how many tenses in Spanish did we say there were? Sixteen! In the first part, we covered the ten "official" tenses of the indicative mood, which deals more with concrete facts, in addition to some "bonus" (non-official) tenses. Now, we'll move on to the other two Spanish moods: the subjunctive, where we will cover tenses eleven through sixteen of the Spanish verb paradigm, and the imperative. If you didn't already, we definitely recommend checking out Part 1 of this lesson. 

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The Subjunctive Tenses

While the indicative mood deals with facts, the subjunctive mood in Spanish, in a nutshell, deals with more abstract notions like wishes, desires, emotions, opinions, and more, which require a whole different set of tenses in Spanish. Although it would be impossible to delve too deeply into the multipronged usage of the subjunctive Spanish mood, we will try to illustrate several cases in which you might come across it. Let's get started!

11. Present Subjunctive (Presente del subjuntivo)

The present subjunctive is the subjunctive equivalent of the simple present tense. Let's take a look at an example from the Yabla Spanish library: 

Note that the reason the subjunctive form is employed here (we can tell it is subjunctive due to its conjugation, hable, which differs from its indicative form, habla) is because the sentence conveys that we want (queremos) for someone not to talk to us in a particular way, which doesn't mean that that person will actually respect our desire. Let's take a look at one more example: 

Here, the word mejor (better) tips us off that the subjunctive form (hablemos instead of hablamos) is in order due to the expression of someone's opinion about what should happen, which doesn't necessarily mean that it will. 

12. Imperfect Subjunctive (Imperfecto de subjuntivo)

The imperfect subjunctive is the past equivalent of the present subjunctive. We see in the following example that the verb hablar has been conjugated in the imperfect subjunctive (habláramos) instead of in the indicative (hablábamos) due to the expression of desire, once again with the verb querer:

No, no te dije que quería hablar con vos, quería que habláramos los dos. 

No, I didn't tell you that I wanted to talk to you; I wanted for us to talk, the two [of us].

Caption 46, Muñeca Brava 43 La reunión - Part 6

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Another very common use of the imperfect subjunctive is to talk about hypothetical situations. In this case, the imperfect subjunctive is often incorporated into a "si (if) clause" in conjunction with the conditional tense to communicate that "if" something were the case, then something else "would" happen, as in the following clip:

The hypothetical situation the teacher is going for here is: Si hablara ruso, viviría en Rusia (If I spoke Russian, I'd live in Russia). To learn more about this type of construction, we highly recommend the entire series of which this video is a part. 

13. Future Subjunctive (Futuro (simple) de subjuntivo)

We definitely couldn't come up with any examples of the future subjunctive tense in our Yabla Spanish library because this tense is all but obsolete and is almost never even taught in modern Spanish. For that reason, you may not recognize it due to its different and little-seen conjugations, although you may occasionally come across it in legal documents or literature. We came up with this example:

El que hablare fuerte se echará de lo biblioteca. 

Whoever talks loudly will be thrown out of the library. 

The future subjunctive could conceivably be used here because the sentence refers to "whoever," rather than known individuals, as well as alluding to a possible future event. However, in modern Spanish, this very same idea would be conveyed with the present subjunctive:

El que hable fuerte se echará de lo biblioteca. 

Whoever talks loudly will be thrown out of the library. 

14. Present Perfect Subjunctive (Pretérito perfecto de subjuntivo)

The present perfect subjunctive is the equivalent of the present perfect indicative in situations that require the subjunctive, and the verb haber is thus conjugated in its subjunctive form. That said, we'll take this opportunity to mention another case that requires subjunctive: when expressing that something will happen "when" something else happens that hasn't yet, as in the following example:

Cuando se hayan hablado, se van a entender mejor.

When they've talked to each other, they are going to understand each other better. 

And, here's an additional example of the present perfect subjunctive from our Spanish video library with different verbs:

Espero que os haya gustado este vídeo sobre esta maravillosa planta y hayáis aprendido algo nuevo. 

I hope you've liked this video about this wonderful plant and have learned something new.

Captions 80-81, Fermín La plumeria - Part 1

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15. Pluperfect Subjunctive (Pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo)

The pluperfect subjunctive is the subjunctive equivalent of the pluperfect tense and is also used to talk about hypothetical situations. It is formed with the pluperfect form of haber plus the participle, and, like the imperfect subjunctive, it is often used in conjunction with the conditional or conditional perfect to describe what "would have" happened if something else "had been" done. Let's see an example:

Si yo hubiera hablado con mi jefe antes, habría evitado cualquier malentendido. 

If I had spoken with my boss previously, I would have avoided any misunderstanding.

Let's look an additional example of the pluperfect subjunctive tense, which does not include the conditional:

Es como si nunca hubiéramos hablado. 

It's as if we had never talked.

Caption 28, Los Años Maravillosos Capítulo 8 - Part 6

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The Spanish phrase como si (as if) quite often precedes verbs in the pluperfect subjunctive tense. 

16. Future Perfect Subjunctive (Futuro compuesto de subjuntivo)

Like the future subjunctive, the future perfect subjunctive is rarely encountered and might only be employed in literary or legal contexts to talk about what will happen in the future if a hypothetical situation "has not" yet occurred. It involves the future subjunctive form of the verb haber plus the participle, as follows:

Si el demandante todavía no hubiere hablado ante el tribunal para la fecha especificada, se desestimará su caso. 

If the plaintiff still hasn't spoken before the court by the specified date, his case will be dismissed. 

However, the present perfect subjunctive would take the place of the future perfect subjunctive in order to say this today:

Si el demandante todavía no haya hablado ante el tribunal para la fecha especificada, se desestimará su caso. 

If the plaintiff still hasn't spoken before the court by the specified date, his case will be dismissed. 

Since different verb conjugations are rarely required in English to talk about emotions, desires, or hypotheticals, the subjunctive mood can initially feel quite confusing for English speakers, and we hope that this lesson has this shed some light on some of the possible subjunctive scenarios in Spanish. For more information about the subjunctive in Spanish, the following link with take you to several additional lessons on different aspects of this topic. 

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The Imperative "Tenses"

Let's conclude our rundown of all Spanish tenses by talking about the "bonus" tenses in the imperative mood (modo imperativo), which are not included in the official classification of the different tenses in Spanish. Also called commands, these Spanish verb tenses are those that tell someone to do something, and they fall into several categories:

1. Commands with tú (informal "you") :

Habla con la gente de laboratorio.

Talk to the people from the lab.

Caption 36, Confidencial: Asesino al Volante Capítulo 1 - Part 11

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2. Negative commands with tú:

A ver. Sebas, mi amor, no le hables así a tu papá.

Let's see. Sebas, my love, don't talk to your dad like that.

Caption 30, La Familia Cheveroni Capítulo 1 - Part 2

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3. Commands with vos (informal "you" in certain regions):

por favor hablá con Andrea; necesito encontrar a mi nieto. 

please talk to Andrea; I need to find my grandson.

Caption 59, Muñeca Brava 48 - Soluciones - Part 9

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4. (Negative or positive) commands with usted (formal "you"):

Hable más despacio.

"Hable más despacio" [Speak more slowly].

Caption 40, Carlos explica El modo imperativo 2: Irregulares, Usted + plurales

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5. (Negative or positive) commands with ustedes (plural "you"):

Pues no me hablen de costumbre porque luego en vez de ganar, pierdo.

Well don't talk to me about habits because then instead of earning, I lose.

Caption 7, La Banda Chilanguense El habla de México - Part 3

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6. Commands with vosotros/as (informal plural "you"):

Con vosotros o vosotras: Hablad más despacio.

With "vosotros" or "vosotras" ["you" plural informal masculine/feminine]: "Hablad más despacio" [Talk more slowly].

Caption 25, Carlos explica El modo imperativo 1: Tú + vos

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7. Negative commands with vosotros/as:

No nos habléis de esa forma.

Don't speak to us in that way. 

8. (Negative or positive) commands with nosotros/as (we): 

Hablemos de otra palabra.

Let's talk about another word.

Caption 19, Carlos comenta Confidencial - Jerga típica colombiana

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While we won't get into the norms for conjugating all of these types of commands with -ar, -er, and -ir verbs, we recommend Yabla's four-part video series entitled El modo imperativo (The Imperative Mode), beginning here, which explores this topic. 

And that wraps up our lesson on all of the verb tenses in Spanish. We hope you've enjoyed it (and learned a lot)! And don't forget to leave us your suggestions and comments. 

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The keys to picking up a language quickly are constant exposure and practice. But practice is not always easy to obtain, either because you lack the opportunity or, more often, because you lack the confidence to engage in a conversation. So you lack learning because you lack practice, and you lack practice because you lack learning. How frustrating!

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But there are always ways around this problem. One of them involves memorizing common phrases to be prepared for the next time you get the chance to engage in a conversation. For example, you can memorize entire phrases by topic; phrases to introduce yourself, to ask for directions, to order food, etc. Or you could memorize smaller, more specialized chunks of speech and use them as building blocks to create more complex ideas. For example, phrases like quiero que... (I want that), or no sé si (I don't know if). On this lesson we will focus on exploring one of these phrases: si fuera. 

The phrase si fuera actually involves mastering an advanced skill in Spanish: the use of the verb ser (to be) in the subjunctive mood. But instead of learning rules and conjugation tables, you can memorize it as it is, and learn how speakers use it in everyday speech to build your own sentences.

Si fuera is usually combined with the preposition como (as) and followed by a noun phrase:

Así como si fuera una pinza.

Like this as if it were a clamp.

Caption 22, 75 minutos - Del campo a la mesa - Part 17

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Since fuera is used for both the first and third person singular, you can use the same expression to talk about yourself. You can add the pronoun yo (I) between si and fuera, or not:

¡Si fuera tu jefe te despediría! 
If I were your boss, I'd have you fired! 

Here's an example from our catalog:
 

Yo quiero amarte como si fuera tu único dueño.

I want to love you as if I were your only master.

Caption 63, 75 minutos - Gangas para ricos - Part 3

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Look at this useful example that combines si fuera with a basic simple sentence like esto es(this is):
 

Esto es como si fuera el rastro de los móviles o el rastro de tu vida.

This is as if it were a cell phone trail or your life's trail.

Caption 31, 75 minutos - Gangas para ricos - Part 4

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Si fuera can also be followed by a pronoun, it's used a lot in conditional sentences:
 

Bueno, si yo fuera tú, hablaría con él.

Well, if I were you, I would speak with him.

Caption 24, El Aula Azul - La Doctora Consejos: Subjuntivo y condicional

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And si fuera can also be followed by an adjective instead of a noun:

Si [yo] fuera rico me respetarías un poco - If I were rich you would respect me a little.
Si mi jefa fuera injusta conmigo yo renunciaría a mi trabajo - If my boss were unfair to me I would quit my job.

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At this point you could also learn the expression como si fuera poco:

Y como si fuera poco, todo lo que hacen...

And, as if that weren't enough, everything that they do...

Caption 30, Salvando el planeta Palabra Llegada - Part 8

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Let's continue our series on the use of the verbs ser and estar, now focusing on some examples using the subjunctive to express wishes, or to refer to hypothetical situations. The present subjunctive for the first person singular yo (I) is esté for the verb estar and sea for the verb ser. Here're some examples of first person singular sea and esté:

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Mamá quiere que [yo] sea doctor  / Mom wants me to be a doctor.
Mi hermana piensa que es mejor que [yo] sea dentista / My sister thinks it's best for me to be a dentist.

Lola me pide que [yo] esté tranquilo / Lola asks me to be calm.
Imagino que es mejor que no [yo] esté preocupado / I imagine it's better for me not to beworried.

Note that it's very common to use the pronoun que (that) before the subjunctive. In fact, some Spanish speakers learn to conjugate the subjunctive altogether with this pronoun, like: que yo sea, que tú seas, etc. or que yo esté, que tú estés, etc. to differentiate it from the indicative.

The forms sea and esté are also used for the third person singular, which is very convenient since you can use it to talk about wishes or hypothetical situations pertaining to other people, things, and ideas. For example:
 

Entonces, para que sea una sorpresa también.

So, for it to be a surprise also.

Caption 12, 75 minutos - Gangas para ricos - Part 10

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Quiero comprar un barco que sea capaz de... de hacer travesías largas.

I want to buy a boat that is capable of... of making long voyages.

Captions 72-73, 75 minutos - Gangas para ricos - Part 20

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Y que ya no sea Belanova el grupo de bajo, computadora y voz.

So that Belanova won't be the group of the bass, computer and voice any longer.

Caption 13, Belanova - Entrevista - Part 4

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And with esté:
 

Ya la llamaremos cuando la doctora esté disponible.

We'll call you when the doctor is available.

Caption 42, Cita médica - La cita médica de Cleer - Part 1

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Son tres modos que se usan para pedirle a alguien que esté alerta.

There are three ways that are used to ask someone to be alert.

Caption 27, Carlos comenta - Confidencial - Vocabulario y expresiones

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Para que la aceituna esté en condiciones para envasar el lunes.

So that the olives are in condition for packing on Monday.

Caption 35, 75 minutos - Del campo a la mesa - Part 19

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Finally, there's a very common and useful expression that uses sea: o sea, which is used to clarify or explain something. This expression translates as "in other words," "meaning," and other similar phrases.

O sea, que te vas a quedar sin marido durante tres meses.

In other words, you are going to be without a husband for three months.

Caption 27, 75 minutos - Del campo a la mesa - Part 3

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The present subjunctive of the verb ser (to be) is the same in both the first- and third-person singular: sea. This little word is used profusely in Spanish for the most varied purposes. Let's explore and learn a few.
 

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The first person yo (I) uses sea. You can use it to express other people's wishes or expectations placed on you:
 
Quieres que [yo] sea cuidadosa
You want me to be cautious
 
or to deny hypothetic situations or conditions:
 
No es que yo sea mala...
It's not that I'm bad...
 
The third person (he, she, it) also uses sea. Here are examples using sea to talk about people (he, she). The tricky part is that Spanish usually gets rid of the pronouns él or ella, so you will only hear or see the verb sea.
 

No importa que sea morena, blanca, rubia o canela

It doesn't matter if she is dark-skinned, white, blonde or brown

Caption 52, Alberto Barros - Mano a mano

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¿Cómo me voy a andar fijando en él por más simpático...

How am I going to go around thinking about him no matter how nice...

alto, caballero y bello que sea?

tall, gentlemanly and handsome he might be?

Captions 74-75, NPS No puede ser - 1 - El concurso

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It's the same when you use sea to, for example, talk about a poisonous mushroom:
 

Por tocarlo no pasa nada.

Nothing happens by touching it.

Aunque sea mortal.

Even though it's lethal.

Captions 114-115, 75 minutos - Del campo a la mesa

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However, the use of sea extends far beyond that in Spanish. Many idiomatic expressions use it. For example, the expression sea lo que is used to express fatalistic sentiments. Use this model phrase to learn it: sea + lo que dios mande (literally, let it be what God commands). Note that it uses subjunctive plus subjunctive:
 
Que sea lo que dios mande
Let it be God's will.
 
Of course, it's possible to get rid of the pronoun que (that) and combine the phrase with a different verb, like querer (to want):
 

Sea lo que Dios quiera.

Let it be God's will.

Caption 9, Baile Folklórico de Puerto Rico - Los Bailarines

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But there's also the expression sea lo que sea, literally meaning "let it be whatever it might be," or more simply put: "whatever it may be."
 
Sea lo que sea, quiero saber la verdad.
I want to know the truth, whatever that may be.

The shorter expression lo que sea (whatever) is even more common:
 

No es solamente utilizar una moneda local o lo que sea.

It's not just to use a local coin or whatever.

Caption 67, 75 minutos - Gangas para ricos - Part 4

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...sea hombre, mujer, o lo que sea.

...whether it's a man, a woman or whatever.

Caption 60, Arume - Barcelona

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The clause para que sea (for it to be, so that it is) is also a great addition to your Spanish vocabulary:
 

Entonces, para que sea una sorpresa también.

So, for it to be a surprise also.

Caption 12, 75 minutos - Gangas para ricos - Part 10

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Para que sea más fácil, le cortáis por la mitad.

So that it is easier, you cut it in half.

Caption 49, Cómetelo - Crema de brócoli

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Finally, don't forget the expression o sea (I mean, meaning):
 

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¡O sea, esto es más de lo que cualquier chica popular puede soportar!

I mean, this is more than any popular girl could bear!

Caption 1, NPS No puede ser - 1 - El concurso

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Let's continue practicing the use of the subjunctive in adverb clauses that are part of compound sentences (99% of the time subjunctive is used in compound sentences) by identifying the conjunctions typically used to introduce it. In our previous lesson we focused on conjunctions of time, this time let's revise the use of the subjunctive combined with conjunctions of provision, a classic match!

The conjunctions that are used to express provision in Spanish are antes (de) que, con tal (de) que, en caso (de) que, para que, sin que. You will love these conjunctions, which, by the way, are more properly called locuciones conjuntivas (conjunctive phrases). Why? Well, because they will always use subjunctive, always. There's no room for mistakes. They are, therefore, a great addition to your vocabulary, one that will automatically improve your proficiency in the use of the subjunctive. Of course, you also must learn the proper way to conjugate the subjunctive; if you are not there yet, we recommend you to first focus on the present subjunctive. 

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So let's start with the examples. Always use the subjunctive after the conjunction antes (de) que (before):
 

Aléjate de mí y hazlo pronto antes de que te mienta

Get away from me and do it soon before I lie to you

Caption 1, Camila - Aléjate de mi

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The same happens with con tal (de) que (provided that):

Soy capaz de todo con tal de que te quedes a mi lado.
I'm capable of everything, provided that you stay beside me.

You probably noticed that we put the preposition de (of) between parentheses. This is just so you know that many Spanish speakers don't use it and instead just say antes que (before), con tal que (provided that), sometimes even en caso que (in case that). We recommend you to always use it. Read about dequeísmo and queísmo here.

The conjunctive phrase en caso de que (in case that) will also always be followed by subjunctive: 
 

Porque en caso de que esté muy aguado.

Because, in the case that it is very watery.

Caption 46, Recetas de cocina - Papa a la Huancaína

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The same happens with para que (so that, in order that) and sin que (without):
 

Si quieres puedes voltear acá

If you want you can look here

para que veas en el espejo el reflejo y...

so that you see the reflection in the mirror and...

Caption 36, Instinto de conservación - Gorgona

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Yo soy el que hago que coman sin que tengan hambre

I am the one who makes them eat without being hungry

Caption 10, Calle 13 - Calma Pueblo

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Let's go back to the subjunctive just a little. Did you know that one characteristic that sets apart the subjunctive mood from the indicative, conditional, and the imperative is the fact that the subjunctive is found primarily in dependent clauses? (Of course, the other moods can occur there as well.) Let's illustrate this with an example from one of our videos:
 

¿Que estás queriendo que se muera más rápido?

What are you wanting for him to die faster?

Caption 12, Yago - 9 Recuperación

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This is a classic example of subjunctive, right? It's being used to talk about a wish, a hypothetical situation. We have highlighted the subjunctive muera in bold and underlined the indicative queriendo to clearly show you the way the subjunctive is used as part of compound sentences: the indicative queriendo plays the main role as the independent clause (the action of wanting), while the subjunctive muera refers to the action that depends on it (the action of dying). This is the way the subjunctive is used most of the time. 

But the subjunctive is sometimes used in independent clauses. One of the most interesting cases is when the imperfect subjunctive is used to replace the conditional forms of the verbs poder (to be able), querer (to want), and deber (must) as part of what in Spanish is called el subjuntivo de cortesía (the courtesy subjunctive). As its name indicates, this construction is used to make a request or a suggestion in a more gentle, polite, or deferential way. This type of subjunctive is very, very common, so it's a good idea to memorize the corresponding conjugation for each verb. you can find full conjugations of these verbs on this page.

You might also want to explore the following examples. Note that the use of this subjunctive is usually combined with another verb in infinitive:

Quisiera saber si los perros tienen cosquillas.

I would like to know if dogs are ticklish.

Caption 102, Animales en familia - Señales de calma y cosquillas en los perros

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¿Pudieras pasarme la leche?

Could you pass me the milk?

Angélica debiera bajar a comer.

Angelica should come down to eat.

Caption 15, Muñeca Brava - 36 La pesquisa

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All these expressions would still be correct if you used the conditional forms (querría instead of quisiera, podrías instead of pudieras, debería instead of debiera); the use of subjunctive just makes them more polite, refined. It's a subtle difference, really. Think of it this way: using the conditional podrías pasarme la leche could mean, in theory, that the speaker is actually doubting whether the other person is able to pass the milk or not, instead of just asking for a favor. The use of the subjunctive leaves no room for doubts that you are making a polite request.

We can't stress enough how common this substitution of conditional with subjunctive is. But make no mistake, this is no conditional, and it only uses these three verbs. You may bump into similar constructions that are just incomplete compound sentences, for example incomplete si (if) clauses:

Si yo supiera...

If I only knew...

Caption 72, Muñeca Brava - 33 El partido

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The subjunctive is not used as an independent clause here. Grammatically speaking, this expression is just missing its main clause, in this case a conditional. If we add it, for example: si yo supiera te lo diría (if I only knew I would tell you), we have a classic case of conditional plus subjunctive, as seen in one of our previous lessons on the subject.   

The same happens with the following example. It's a tricky one, because even though it uses the verb poder (to be able), this is not a case of courtesy subjunctive. To prove it, we have completed the sentence with a conditional in brackets:

Si pudiera bajarte una estrella del cielo [me amarías]

If I could lower down to you a star from the sky [you would love me]

Caption 5, Enrique Iglesias - Cuando me enamoro

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Another interesting use of the subjunctive used as an independent sentence happens when it's used with words that mean “perhaps,” like tal vez and quizá. 

Tal vez cure el tiempo las heridas.

Perhaps time may heal the wounds.

Caption 20, Reik - No desaparecerá

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Of course, it's also possible to simply use the indicative here and say: tal vez cura el tiempo las heridas (perhaps time heals the wounds). The use of subjunctive just stresses the idea that the action is improbable or doubtful, it's also more poetic. However—and this is just an exercise of the mind—another way of understanding these type of expressions is to recall that the words tal vez and quizá mean es posible (it's possible) and thus play the role of the main clause in a classic example of indicative plus subjunctive, where the subjunctive que cure... is the subordinate clause. Just saying.

Es posible que cure el tiempo las heridas.
It's possible that time will heal the wounds.

This is our third lesson in the series on the Spanish subjunctive. We invite you to read our lessons on Subjunctive and Indicative and Subjunctive and Imperative. Our site is featuring new social media widgets, so feel free to share the lessons with all your friends!

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Let's now study how to combine subjunctive with conditional. Don't forget all our examples use bold to highlight the subjunctive and underlining for the other moods.

The Spanish subjunctive can be used with both forms of the conditional. The most common one is the simple conditional. Remember that to conjugate regular -ar, -er and -ir verbs in the conditional, you add the endings -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían to the infinitive form of the verb. You may want to refresh your knowledge of the Spanish conditional and keep your conjugation charts handy for this lesson.

The simple conditional is usually combined with the pretérito imperfecto de subjuntivo (imperfect subjunctive). It is one of the most common ways to express wishes in Spanish. Incidentally, this is one of the few cases in which you can use subjunctive as the main or independent clause of a compound sentence in Spanish:

Quisiera que el coche tuviera GPS.
I would want [I wish] the car had GPS.

Compare this to the use of simple present indicative with present subjunctive, which we learned in our first lesson: 

Quiero que el coche tenga GPS.
I want the car to have GPS.

Which is very different from not using subjunctive at all: 
Quiero que el coche tiene GPS.
I want the car has GPS.


ERROR! You can't say this in Spanish. You must use subjunctive as in the first two examples. English can't get away with it either, at least not using present indicative, as shown in the equally wrong translation. The infinitive is acceptable in English ("yes, I want the car to have GPS"), but not Spanish: saying sí, quiero que el coche tener GPS is even worse! Don't do it.

Let's go back to simple conditional and subjunctive. You can also use the simple conditional with the pretérito pluscuamperfecto del subjuntivo (pluperfect subjunctive). Since this is a compound tense that's kind of fancy, is not very common to combine it with simple conditional. But it happens. Let's use the same example with the verb querer (to want):

Querría que el coche hubiera tenido GPS.
I would want [I wish] the car had had GPS. 

And it gets fancier than that. Spanish has two forms of conditional, a simple one and a compound form that uses the verb haber (to have) plus participio (-ado, -ido, -to, -so, -cho endings): the conditional perfect. You can use it with pluperfect subjunctive. These expressions are not common since you can always use a more simple construction. But here are two examples:

With the imperfect subjunctive (seen above):
Habría querido que el coche tuviera GPS.
I would have wanted the car had GPS.

With the pluperfect subjunctive is even less common:
Habría querido que el coche hubiera tenido GPS.
I would have wanted the car had had GPS.

To end this lesson we want to share with you some cases in which Spanish uses subjunctive in simple sentences, short expressions that are very commonly uses in everyday life. Spanish is not precisely well known for having short expressions, but one of our readers helped us realized how beautiful these are:

¡Que descanses!
¡Que te vaya bien!
¡Que llueva!
¡Que todo se solucione!
¡Que salga el sol!

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In fact, if you look closely, these short expressions are just using implicitly the verb desear ( "to wish" or "to hope"):

¡[Deseo] que descanses! I hope you have some rest.
¡[Deseo] que te vaya bien! I hope you do well.
¡[Deseo] que llueva! I hope it rains.
¡[Deseo] que todo se solucione! I hope everything gets solved.
¡[Deseo] que salga el sol! I hope the sun comes out.

Which makes them a classic case of present indicative combined with present subjunctive.

Can you give orders or express requests using the subjunctive? In this lesson, we are going to answer that question. Let's analyze some model sentences to learn how to combine the subjunctive with other moods and tenses. You can read our previous lesson on subjunctive and indicative here.

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You can combine the imperative (which is only conjugated in the present tense) with two different tenses of the subjunctive. The easiest and the most common case is when you use the imperative with the present subjunctive. Here are two examples (remember we're using bold for the subjunctive):

Tú haz lo que quieras y yo también.

You do whatever you want and so do I.

Caption 74, Jugando a la Brisca - En la calle

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Y decile a tu amigo que deje de llamarme Vicky.

And tell your friend to quit calling me Vicky.

Caption 19, Muñeca Brava - 1 Piloto - Part 4

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Keep in mind that decí (tell) is typically Argentinian. In other countries, you would hear di (tell): dile a tu amigo (tell your friend).

But going back to the subjunctive, let's analyze the meaning of the expression in the last example. Spanish uses the subjunctive here because what has been said is in the realm of possibilities (in this case, it is the expression of a desire) not in the realm of facts. So you can't say dile que me deja de llamarme Vicky—this is incorrect because the indicative deja (he quits) is reserved to state facts, as in tu amigo deja de llamarme Vicky (your friend quits calling me Vicky).

Another way to phrase the same request could be dile a tu amigo que no me llame Vicky (tell your friend not to call me Vicky). Note that instead of using the verb dejar (to quit) we use a negation plus the verb llamar (to call) in present subjunctive (llame). Again, you could not possibly use the indicative mood here and say dile a tu amigo que no me llama Vicky. This is incorrect— well, at least if what you want to express is a desire or a request.

For the pure pleasure of curiosity, consider an expression in which this last construction could happen, for example: dile a tu amigo que no me llama Vicky que venga a mi fiesta (tell your friend who doesn't call me Vicky to come to my party). See? We use the indicative llama (he calls) to express that it's a fact that he doesn't call Victoria "Vicky," and then we use the subjunctive venga (to come) because it states Victoria's desire for him to come to her party. 

But let's not torture ourselves with games and let's see the second case of imperative combined with subjunctive, this time the pretérito perfecto (equivalent to present perfect subjunctive) which is a compound tense that uses the auxiliary verb haber (to have):

Haz lo que te hayan dicho los doctores.
Do whatever the doctors have told you. 

Dame lo que hayas cocinado.
Give me whatever you have cooked.

Dime lo que María te haya contado.
Tell me whatever Maria has told you.
 

This is not exactly an easy tense, right? Compare these sentences with the following ones that use the imperative with the present subjunctive (reviewed first in this lesson):

Haz lo que te digan los doctores.
Do whatever the doctors tell you. 

Dame algo de lo que cocines mañana.
Give me some of what you cook tomorrow.

Dime lo que María quiera.
Tell me whatever Maria wants.
 

The good news is that you can find ways to get away without using the pretérito perfecto del subjuntivo. For example, you can just use the simple past indicative. It's much less... let's say sophisticated, because the subtle meaning of indeterminacy that the subjunctive gives to the expression (which in English is expressed using the word "whatever") gets lost. Still, the past indicative gets the job done:

Haz lo que te dijeron los doctores.
Do what the doctors told you. 

Dame lo que cocinaste.
Give me what you cooked.

Dime lo que María te contó.
Tell me what Maria told you.

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That's it for today. We hope you liked this lesson and don't forget to send us your comments and suggestions.

¡Hasta la próxima!