SUBJUNCTIVE in Spanish. An introduction to the DECLARATION / NON-DECLARATION METHOD

In Spanish we have three ‘moods’. The INDICATIVE, the SUBJUNCTIVE & the IMPERATIVE.

INDICATIVE MOOD is used for opinions, intentions, facts or beliefs. Believing something makes it a ‘fact’. This is the mood we use the most, & the one we learn first. They – the opinions, intentions, facts or beliefs – are usually the main or primary clause in a sentence, the main focus of what is being said.
We’ll call these DECLARATIONS.

SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD is used for talking about something which is unknown, wanted, hoped for, hypothetical or contrary to fact or belief. What is liked, hoped for wanted etc. They are usually the secondary clause in a sentence. Not the main focus. Very often the word ‘que’ will be present between the two clauses. ‘Que’ isn’t a fail safe ‘trigger’ for the subjunctive, but can give you pause to think – ‘’Do I need the subjunctive?’’
We’ll call these NON-DECLARATIONS

IMPERATIVE MOOD is used for giving an instruction. This mood will be discussed separately.

Here are some examples showing declaration & non-declaration clauses.

I hope that they’ll come to visit us.

I hope that	they’ll come to visit us
Declaration of fact / primary clause	Non-declaration of what is hoped for / secondary clause
Espero que	vengan a visitarnos

When we move to Spain, we’ll learn to speak Spanish.

When we move to Spain,	we´ll learn to speak Spanish.
Non-declaration, / hypothetical situation – the when is unknown secondary clause	Declaration of intention / primary clause
Cuando nos mudemos a España,	aprenderemos a hablar español.

It’s incredible that they eat so much!

It’s incredible that	they eat so much!
Declaration of belief / opinion	Non-declaration secondary clause
¡Es increíble que	coman tanto!

As soon as Javier arrives, he’ll head for the beer.

As soon as Javier arrives,	he’ll head for the beer.
Non-declaration of hypothetical situation. It isn’t known if, or when, he’ll arrive	Declaration of belief of what he’ll do
Tan pronto como llegue Javier,	se dirigirá a la cerveza.

I love it that there are so many good restaurants here.

I love it that	there are so many good restaurants here.
Declaration of fact	Non-declaration of what is loved / secondary clause
Me encanta que	haya tantos restaurantes buenos aquí.

It’s interesting that he wants to go.

It’s interesting that	he wants to go.
Declaration of belief or opinion / primary clause	Non-declaration of what the opinion is / secondary clause
Es interesante que	él quiera ir.

Hopefully we’ll have good weather!

Hopefully we’ll have good weather!

Non-declaration of something wished for

¡Ojalá que tengamos buen tiempo!

PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE

REGULAR CONJUGATIONS

	AR verbs	ER verbs	IR verbs
yo	hable	coma	viva
tú	hables	comas	vivas
él/ella	hable	coma	viva
nosotros	hablemos	comamos	vivamos
vosotros	habléis	comáis	viváis
ellos/ellas	hablen	coman	vivan

IRREGULAR CONJUGATIONS

Stem changing verbs (shoe verbs)

The stem changing verbs in the present indicative have the same changes in the present subjunctive. The only difference is that E to I stem changes will change for every conjugation. The verb endings follow the regular subjunctive endings, just as they do in the present indicative.

	O to UE eg poder	E to IE eg cerrar	E to I eg pedir
yo	pueda	cierre	pida
tú	puedas	cierres	pidas
él/ella	pueda	cierre	pida
nosotros	podamos	cerramos	pidamos
vosotros	podáis	cerréis	pidáis
ellos/ellas	puedan	cierren	pidan

Verbs with irregular ‘yo’ forms in the present indicative.

When a verb has an irregular ‘yo’ conjugation in the present indicative, we take that stem as the stem for the subjunctive, for all conjugations.

Eg.

VERB	INDICATIVE YO FORM	SUBJUNCTIVE STEM
caber	quepo	quep
caigo	caigo	caig
conocer & other verbs ending ‘cer’/ ‘cir’	conozco	conozc
decir	digo	dig
hacer	hago	hag
poner	pongo	pong
tener	tengo	teng
traer	traigo	trai
valer	valgo	valg
ver	veo	ve

The six truly irregular verbs

	DAR	ESTAR	HABER	IR	SABER	SER
yo	dé	esté	haya	vaya	sepas	sea
tú	des	estés	hayas	vayas	sepas	seas
él/ella	dé	esté	haya	vaya	sepa	sea
nosotros	demos	estemos	hayamos	vayamos	sepamos	seamos
vosotros	deis	estéis	hayáis	vayáis	sepáis	seáis
ellos/ellas	den	estén	hayan	vayan	sepan	sean

NB. This is intended as a first introduction to using the subjunctive mood, which is why only the present subjunctive conjugations are given in the tables here. As you continue on your journey with the Spanish, you might come across sentences which perhaps don’t seem to fit this method – but they really are subtleties, & by the time you get there, using the subjunctive will be second nature!