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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There are many different ways of expressing agreement in Spanish. We can express strong or mild agreement or disagreement. And many times, we just have to admit we will never reach an agreement and "agree to disagree" as the Mexican band Café Tacuba repeats in its chorus:

Estemos de acuerdo

Let's agree

en no estar de acuerdo

to disagree

Captions 19-20, Café Tacuba - De acuerdo

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Expressing Agreement in Spanish

Common Expressions of Agreement

Some very common, mostly spoken expressions to convey agreement include claro, tal cual, exactamente, and (es) cierto.

Tienes razón. Claro. Sí.

You're right. Of course. Yes.

Caption 55, El Aula Azul - La Doctora Consejos: parecer y parecerse

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Loca se... se gustaron, la pasaron bomba y punto.

Girl, you... you liked each other, you had a great time and that's it.

Tal cual. -No te tenés que casar con él, ¿eh?

Just like that. -You don't have to marry him, huh?

Captions 25-26, Yago - 9 Recuperación

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y con las pautas de lo que es el... el espectáculo, ¿no?

and the guidelines for the... the show, right?

Exactamente.

Exactly.

Entonces lo sacamos solamente para que conozca esto.

So we take him out just so that he gets to know this.

Captions 43-44, Animales en familia - Un día en Bioparc: Coatís

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Acordar, quedar en algo (agree on something/that something should happen)

Often, the discussion is productive and ends in some sort of deliverable, something we agree to do as the outcome of an exchange of ideas.

Y acordamos que mi amiga me enseñaría

And we agreed that my friend would teach me

todos sus trucos para saltar muy alto,

all of her tricks to jump really high,

Caption 24, Guillermina y Candelario - Una Amiga muy Presumida

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Además, íbamos cerca,

Besides, we weren't going too far,

y quedamos en que yo era capitán,

and we agreed that I was [the] captain,

Caption 21, Guillermina y Candelario - Mi Primer Tesoro

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Trato hecho (It's a deal)

To reassure your commitment, it is common to use the phrase trato hecho, which kind of closes the deal you have made. Once this phrase is uttered, both parties will be held accountable for what they have agreed on. 

Perfecto, ¿mañana a qué hora?

Perfect, tomorrow at what time?

A la misma hora de hoy.

At the same time as today.

¿Trato hecho? -Perfecto.

Deal? -Perfect.

Captions 69-71, Escribiendo un libro - Algunos consejos sobre cómo comenzar

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Expressing Disagreement in Spanish

Expressing Strong Disagreement

Negative phrases can be emphasized with para nada or en lo más mínimo. 

Si tienes planes, lo entiendo.

If you have plans, I understand it.

No, no, no, para nada, no, ¿cómo se te ocurre?

No, no, no, not at all, no, how can you think that?

Captions 11-12, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa - Capítulo 4

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No, te estaba contando una cosa

No, I was telling you one thing

pero parece que no te interesa en lo más mínimo.

but it doesn't seem to interest you in the least.

Caption 43, Muñeca Brava - 39 Verdades

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We can also emphasize that we won't do something requested by someone else with phrases like ni loca/o, de ninguna manera, antes muerta/o (not even crazy, no way, over my dead body): 

Vamos a mi cuarto.

Let's go to my room.

Ni loca, antes muerta.

Not even crazy, [I'd have to be] dead before.

Captions 11-12, Muñeca Brava - 44 El encuentro

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¿Aquí?

Here?

¡De ninguna manera! ¡No!

No way! No!

Captions 41-42, Extr@: Extra en español - Ep. 4: Sam busca un trabajo

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Expressing Mild Disagreement

Disagreement can be introduced by softening phrases like (no) me parece  (I (don't) think). You will notice that in informal conversations, we can even omit what follows and simply say no me parece. Let's see some examples:

No, pero ves,

No, but you see,

ahí me parece que estás equivocado

there it seems to me that you are wrong

Captions 71-72, Muñeca Brava - 46 Recuperación

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Pues, la verdad no me parece muy buena idea porque

Well, I really don't think it's a very good idea because

anda por ahí el agente ese de seguridad preguntando por ti.

that security agent is out there asking about you.

Captions 19-20, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa - Capítulo 4

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Que una chica se lo diga a un chico, ¿viste?

For a girl to say it to a guy, you see?

No... No me parece.

It doesn't... It doesn't seem right to me.

Caption 68, Muñeca Brava - 46 Recuperación

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We hope you all agree that these expressions will be useful, and quedemos en que las van a poner el práctica ahora mismo (let's agree that you will put them into practice right away). Trato hecho (deal)? And don't forget to leave us your suggestions and comments.

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A recent Yabla video entitled La Doctora Consejos: parecer y parecerse demonstrated the difference between the verb parecer (to seem) and the reflexive verb parecerse ("to look like" or "be similar"). Although, at first glance, the difference between these two verbs might seem simple, this can be confusing when pronouns are thrown into the mix.

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When no pronouns are present, it will be quite obvious that the verb in question is parecer. Let's take a look:

La verdad es que pareces cansado.

To be honest, you seem tired.

Caption 11, El Aula Azul - La Doctora Consejos: parecer y parecerse

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Las cosas son más fáciles de lo que parecen.

Things are easier than what they seem.

Caption 25, Carlos explica - Acentuación Cap. 3: La división en sílabas

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On the other hand, when a sentence does involve pronouns, these two verbs become a bit harder to distinguish. One reason for this is that, although parecerse employs reflexive pronouns, while parecer is often accompanied by indirect object pronouns, there is some overlap in terms of the forms of these two pronoun types. Let's take a look:

Should we encounter se then, we will know it is reflexive, while we will recognize le or les as indirect object pronouns. However, as you will notice that the reflexive and indirect object pronouns that correspond to four out of the six personal pronouns appear identical (me, te, nos, and os), how can we tell whether an instance of parecer accompanied by one of these pronouns is indeed parecer or its reflexive counterpart? 

Let's start with the verb parecerse. Keeping in mind that this is a reflexive verb, note that it is conjugated "as usual" to agree with its subject's corresponding personal pronoun: in other words, just like the verb parecer with the addition of the appropriate reflexive pronoun. With this in mind, let's take a look at the present indicative forms of parecer and parecerse:

Now, let's look at some examples of the verb parecerse in action:

En eso me parezco mucho a mi madre. 

I'm a lot like my mother in that way.

Caption 38, El Aula Azul - La Doctora Consejos: parecer y parecerse

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¡Nos gustan las mismas cosas!

We like the same things!

Nos parecemos. 

We are similar.

Captions 40-41, Conversaciones en el parque - Cap. 2: Cafe y bocadillos

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pero entonces tienes que decir, "Mis ojos se parecen a los ojos de mi madre", 

but then you have to say, "My eyes look like my mother's eyes,"

Caption 28, Clase Aula Azul - El verbo parecer

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Note that with the verb parecerse, the conjugations agree with the sentence's subjects, or who or what is performing the action of the sentence: in these cases yo (I), nosotros (we), and mis ojos (my eyes). In other words, we conjugate them in accordance with who or what "looks like" or "is similar to" something else.   

In contrast, when the verb parecer is accompanied by an indirect object pronoun, this verb falls into a class of verbs that function in a manner similar to the verb gustar. While we use the same conjugations of parecer (present indicative, etc.), the person or thing to whom or which something seems a certain way becomes the object of the sentence (receiver of the verb's action), while what seems that way to that entity is the subject. Let's take a look at some examples:

¿Qué cosas te parecen muy importantes en tu día a día? 

What things seem very important to you in your daily life?

Caption 25, El Aula Azul - La Doctora Consejos: parecer y parecerse

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Here, parecer is conjugated in accordance with las cosas (the things) that seem important rather than the person to whom they are, and the indirect object pronoun te tells us that the person they seem important to is tú (you). In addition, when parecer is accompanied by an indirect object pronoun, it entails an opinion, similar to the idea in English that someone "thinks" something. So, although, in the above example, parecer is translated as "to seem," an additional translation might be: "What things in your daily life do you think are important?" Let's look at another example:

A ti te parece bonita. 

You think it's pretty [literally "To you it seems pretty"].

Caption 11, Clase Aula Azul - El verbo parecer

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Were this the verb parecerse utilized with the reflexive pronoun te, the conjugation would instead be: te pareces (you look like). However, this is an instance of the verb parecer conjugated in the third person singular (parece) and accompanied by the indirect object pronoun te to indicate that what "seems" pretty to "you'" is "it'" (we know from the previous sentences that the "it" is the city of San Sebastian, Spain). And as with the verb gustar, adding a mí (to me), a ti (to you), a ellos (to them), etc. is optional but not essential for adding emphasis to this construction. 

Let's conclude with one last example:

y además podéis aprovechar para dar vuestra opinión

and you can also take the opportunity to give your opinion

sobre qué os parece este espacio y qué os parecen mis recetas.

about what you think of this space and what you think of my recipes.

Captions 36-37, La cocina de María - Tortilla de patatas

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Again, remember that although os parece and os parecen have both been translated as "you think" here, which tends to be the more common way to express this idea colloquially, the more literal translations of sentences like this one (in this case, "and you can also take the opportunity to give your opinion about how this space seems to you and how my recipes seem to you") are useful to keep in mind when attempting to decipher or create such structures.

We hope this lesson has helped you to better differentiate the verbs parecer vs. parecerse when pronouns are present, particularly since many of the reflexive and indirect object se parecen (look alike). For an even more in-depth exploration of this topic, check out Clase Aula Azul's series entitled El verb parecer (The Verb Parecer).

That's all for today, and don't forget to send us your questions and comments.