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.

Let's keep learning interesting Spanish expressions. Our always-growing catalog of Spanish videos contains many examples that will definitely help you boost your conversational skills.
 

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Mili, the main character of the Argentinian telenovela Muñeca Brava, continues to be a never-ending source of colloquial expressions. In the following example, she gives us the Spanish equivalent of the expression "to call a spade a spade," which in Spanish has a very eucharistical nature:

¡Al pan, pan y al vino, vino, doña!

To call a spade a spade, Ma'am!

[literally: to call bread "bread" and wine "wine"]

Caption 55, Muñeca Brava - 8 Trampas

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Indeed, Mili siempre llama al pan, pan y al vino, vino (Mili always calls a spade a spade), because Mili es muy directa para hablar (Mili is very direct). Mexican folks would also say that Mili es muy claridosa (Mili is very plain-spoken, or blunt), a word that comes from the adjective claro (clear). Wouldn't you agree with Spanish speakers who would also say that Mili is not the type of person that esquiva el bulto (literally, “goes around the bundle”)? Depending on the context, this expression may be translated as "to beat around the bush" or even "to dodge the bullet”:

Al contrario,

On the contrary,

vos estás esquivando acá el bulto para no pagarme a mí...

you are trying to dodge the bullet to avoid paying me...

Caption 49, Muñeca Brava - 18 - La Apuesta

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Also equivalent are the Spanish expressions sacar la vuelta (to go around, to evade), hacer rodeos or andar con rodeos (to make detours):

Dime la verdad, no le saques la vuelta. 
Tell me the truth, don't beat around the bush.
 
Desde entonces, Lucía siempre me saca la vuelta.
Since then, Lucia is always evading me.

Está bien, Sor Cachetes, déjese de rodeos. Dígame,

All right, Sister Cheeks, stop beating about the bush. Tell me,

¿qué, qué es lo que pasa?

what, what's going on?

Captions 44-45, Muñeca Brava 18 - La Apuesta

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Quiero andarme sin rodeos

I want to go without detours [to be straightfoward]

Confesarte que una tarde empecé a morir por ti

To confess to you that one afternoon I began to die for you

Captions 16-17, Amaia Montero - Quiero Ser

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Going back to Mili's personality, another useful expression to describe the way she speaks would be ir al grano (to get straight to the point). When someone is wasting your time with a long chat, you can say ¡Ve al grano! (Get to the point!) Of course, you can also do as Mili does and omit the verb ir (to go):

Bueno, vamos.

Well, let's go.

Al grano que quiero dormir mi siesta.

Straight to the point as I want to take my nap.

¿Qué venías a pedirme?

What did you want to ask me?

Captions 66-68, Muñeca Brava - 41 La Fiesta

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Another similar expression is ir al meollo del asunto or ir al meollo de la cuestión, which means “to get to the nub of the issue,” “to get straight to the point.” The word meollo is definitely a keeper. It means the central core of something, and comes from the latin medulla (marrow):

Bueno, el meollo de la cuestión.

Well, the point of the matter.

Caption 11, Muñeca Brava - 18 - La Apuesta

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There are many virtues and benefits associated with being as direct as Mili is. People like her are usually honest and not prone to telling lies or cheating. Speaking of which, you may have heard the expression dar gato por liebre (to try to deceive; literally, “to give a cat instead of a hare”). A somewhat close English expression is “to be sold a pig in a poke,” which is not very common, anyway.

Gato por liebre.

A cat for a hare [you think you're getting one thing but it's another].

-Exactamente.

-Exactly.

Caption 50, Factor Fobia Cucarachas

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This expression is very common in Spanish, so you may want a more contextualized example:
 
No quieras darme gato por liebre / Don't try to deceive me.
 

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Another similar expression is tomar el pelo (to try to trick someone).The expression dar gato por liebre would be more suitable in the context of a real scam someone is trying to pull. On the other hand, tomar el pelo is more likely used in the context of a joke. In that sense it's similar to the English expression "to pull someone's leg." Here are two examples:

¿Ustedes dos me están tomando el pelo a mí?

Are you two pulling my leg [literally "pulling my hair"]?

Caption 30, Yago - 6 Mentiras

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¿Qué tango, me estás tomando el pelo?

What tango, are you pulling my leg [literally: Are you pulling my hair]?

Yo no escucho ningún tango.

I don't hear any tango.

Captions 46-47, Muñeca Brava - 30 Revelaciones

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Y tras la pausa, vamos a ver si se anima Sebastián Estebanez...

And after the break, we'll see if Sebastian Estebanez dares...

Caption 56, Factor Fobia - Cucarachas

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Tras la guerra con Napoleón, el Rey Fernando Séptimo inició su reconstrucción.

After the war with Napoleon, King Ferdinand the Seventh began his reconstruction.

Captions 64-65, Marisa en Madrid - Parque de El Retiro

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The word tras can be used to mean "after" in terms of the timing of a sequence of events.

Tras hablar con su padre, Ana dijo que no volvería a la casa.
After speaking with her father, Ana said she would never return home.

Note that tras can also operate as a preposition used to indicate "behind."

La azafata acabó de salir del hotel y Zárate va tras ella.

The flight attendant has just left the hotel and Zarate is behind her.

Caption 21, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa - Capítulo 4

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Tu hermano está tras la puerta.
Your brother is behind the door.

In the program Factor Fobia, Marley uses two words that are very similar sounding, atrás and tras.

Tuve un... hace unos meses atrás, me he ido a China.

I had a... some months ago, I've been to China.

Captions 28-29, Factor Fobia - Cucarachas

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As is evident, atrás can be used to indicate "ago," as in time past.

Yo empecé hace tres años atrás en el grupo Guamanique,

I started three years ago in the Guamanique group,

se llama Ballet Folklórico Guamanique, que es de Puerto Rico.

it's called the Guamanique Folk Ballet, which is from Puerto Rico.

Captions 3-4, Baile Folklórico de Puerto Rico - Los Bailarines

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Muchos años atrás, él fue general.
Many years ago, he was a general.

La última vez que nos vimos habrá sido unos seis años atrás.
Last time we met may have been some six years ago.

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Of course, atrás is also commonly used to indicate "backwards" or "towards the back."

Si eso era un primer paso, había sido un paso atrás.

If that was a first move, it had been a move backwards.

Caption 24, Los Años Maravillosos - Capítulo 2

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Ella fue atrás.
She went backwards.

Vaya hacia atrás, por favor.
Go backwards, please.