9 minute read
10D La gramática: El presente del subjuntivo
from ¡Venga!
by Edco Ireland
D. La gramática: El presente del subjuntivo
El presente del subjuntivo
You may have noticed a verb form you didn’t recognise in previous exercises. For example, in the last exercise, question 2 reads ‘… que tengan el mismo sentido…’ Tengan is a subjunctive form of the verb tener. In Spanish, the present subjunctive is used to talk about situations of uncertainty or doubt. The present subjunctive is also used to express emotion, desire or necessity.
PowerPoint
FORMING THE PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE Step 1
Take the yo form of the verb in the present tense.
Step 2
Remove the -o from the end of the yo form. This becomes the stem.
INFINITIVE YO FORM SUBJUNCTIVE STEM
HABLAR hablo habl-
COMER como com-
VIVIR vivo viv-
TENER tengo teng-
HACER hago hag-
PARECER parezco parezc-
VER veo veCombining Step 1 and Step 2, remember to Go to yo and drop the ‘o’.
Step 3
Add the following endings:
-AR VERBS -ER AND -IR VERBS
yo -e -a tú -es -as él/ella/usted -e -a nosotros/as -emos -amos vosotros/as -éis -áis ellos/ellas/ustedes -en -an The table below shows the full subjunctive conjugations for the verbs hablar, comer and hacer.
HABLAR COMER HACER
yo hable coma haga tú hables comas hagas él/ella/usted hable coma haga nosotros/as hablemos comamos hagamos vosotros/as habléis comáis hagáis ellos/ellas/ustedes hablen coman hagan
Examples of the subjunctive in use: Mi madre quiere que nosotros comamos la fruta... My mother wants us to eat the fruit. El profesor espera que yo haga los deberes............. The teacher hopes I’ll do the homework. Dudo que mi novio venga a la fiesta.......................... I doubt that my boyfriend will come to the party.
1. Tomar (tú) 2. Beber (ella) 3. Vivir (nosotros) 4. Tener (yo) 5. Vender (ellos) 6. Subir (vosotros) 7. Mirar (él) 8. Poner (tú) 9. Hacer (nosotros) 10. Decir (yo)
El presente del subjuntivo: Verbos irregulares
There are just six verbs that are irregular in the present subjunctive. To remember them, think of the acronym DISHES.
IRREGULAR VERBS
D Dar I Ir S Ser H Haber E Estar S Saber
DAR IR SER HABER ESTAR SABER
yo dé vaya sea haya esté sepa tú des vayas seas hayas estés sepas él/ella dé vaya sea haya esté sepa nosotros/as demos vayamos seamos hayamos estemos sepamos vosotros/as deis vayáis seáis hayáis estéis sepáis ellos/ellas den vayan sean hayan estén sepan
Stem-changing verbs ending in -AR and -ER
These verbs have the same stem change in the present subjunctive as in the present indicative. So e changes to ie or o changes to ue in all forms of the verb except the nosotros and vosotros forms.
PENSAR PODER
piense pensemos
pienses penséis
piense piensen pueda podamos
puedas podáis
pueda puedan
Stem-changing verbs ending in -IR that change e–ie or o–ue
These verbs also change in the same way as in the present indicative, but have an additional change in the nosotros and vosotros forms: e changes to i and o changes to u.
SENTIR DORMIR
sienta sintamos
sientas sintáis
sienta sientan duerma durmamos
duermas durmáis
duerma duerman
Stem-changing verbs ending in -IR that change e–i
E changes to i throughout each part of these verbs.
PEDIR
yo pida tú pidas él/ella/usted pida nosotros/as pidamos vosotros/as pidáis ellos/ellas/ustedes pidan
Verbs ending in -GAR, -CAR and -ZAR
These verbs will have a spelling change in the present subjunctive to make pronunciation consistent.
INFINITIVE PRESENT INDICATIVE PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE
LLEGAR yo llego yo llegue
PAGAR yo pago yo pague
BUSCAR yo busco yo busque
SACAR yo saco yo saque
CRUZAR yo cruzo yo cruce The spelling changes occur in every part of these verbs, as in the example below:
LLEGAR
yo llegue tú llegues él/ella/usted llegue nosotros/as lleguemos vosotros/as lleguéis ellos/ellas/ustedes lleguen
1. Buscar (tú) 2. Pensar (ella) 3. Pedir (nosotros) 4. Jugar (yo) 5. Comenzar (ellos) 6. Sentir (vosotros) 7. Almorzar (él) 8. Querer (tú) 9. Dormir (nosotros) 10. Volver (yo)
Using the present subjunctive
Now that you know how to form the present subjunctive, it is important to know when to use it. Sentences in the subjunctive are usually structured in the following way:
WEIRDO verb + que + subjunctive verb
WEIRDO stands for: Wanting or wishing Emotions Impersonal expressions Recommendations or requests Doubt Ojalá All of the above situations are followed by the subjunctive. Let’s look at some examples in each category. 1. Wanting or Wishing. This category includes the following verbs: esperar que........................to hope/expect preferir que .......... to prefer desear que .........................to wish querer que............ to want necesitar que.....................to need
In the following examples, you can see the structure WEIRDO verb + que + subjunctive verb in use. Mis padres quieren que yo estudie mucho.......My parents want me to study a lot. Su tío desea que cenes con él..............................His uncle wants you to have dinner with him.
2. Emotions. This category includes the following expressions: alegrarse de que...............to be glad that lamentar que ................. to regret that encantar que.....................to be delighted that molestar que.................. to be annoyed that estar contento de que ....to be happy that sorprender que ............. to be surprised that estar enojado de que ......to be angry that tener miedo de que...... to be afraid that estar triste de que............to be sad that temer que ....................... to fear that gustar que..........................to like that
¿Te molesta que él no venga con nosotros? ...Does it bother you that he’s not coming with us? Estoy contento de que estés aquí.......................I’m happy that you are here.
3. Impersonal expressions include the following: Es bueno que… ......................... It is good that… Es dudoso que… ....................... It is doubtful that… Es extraño que…....................... It is strange that… Es importante que…................ It is important that… Es malo que…............................ It is bad that… Es probable que… .................... It is probable that… Es recomendable que….......... It is recommended that… Es una lástima que… ............... It is a shame that… Es vergonzoso que… ............... It is a disgrace that…
These phrases are all using the same structure: es + adjective + que. However, adjectives that express certainty or fact should not be followed by the subjunctive. Think of the acronym VOCES to remember the adjectives that shouldn’t be followed by subjunctive verbs.
V Es verdad que…............It is true that… O Es obvio que…..............It is obvious that… C Es cierto que…..............It is certain that… E Es evidente que….........It is evident that… S Es seguro que…............It is sure that… }
These expressions are NEVER followed by the subjunctive.
4. Recommendations or Requests. This category includes the following: aconsejar que....................to advise that recomendar que ...........to recommend that pedir que............................to request that sugerir que .....................to suggest that proponer que ....................to propose that
Mi padre recomienda que haga más ejercicio....My dad recommends I do more exercise. El profesor sugiere que leamos esta novela. .......The teacher suggests we read this book.
5. Doubt. This category includes the following expressions: dudar que...........................to doubt that no estar seguro que .....to be unsure that negar ...................................to deny that
Dudo que ella sepa donde vivo. ............................. I doubt she knows where I live. No está seguro que Juan venga a la fiesta. ........ He’s not sure that Juan is coming to the party.
While expressions of doubt or disbelief should be followed by the subjunctive, expressions that express certainty or belief are never followed by the subjunctive. So no creer que and no pensar que are followed by the subjunctive, while creer que and pensar que are not followed by the subjunctive. Consider the following examples: No creo que sea posible. I don’t believe it is possible. (expressing doubt) Creo que es posible. I believe it is possible. (expressing belief)
6. Ojalá.
Ojalá is an expression meaning if only, I wish, I hope to God or God willing. It is always followed by the subjunctive. It can be followed by que or not. ¡Ojalá que le compre un regalo! ..................I hope she buys him a present! ¡Ojalá haga buen tiempo mañana!.............I hope to God the weather is good tomorrow!
Other uses of the subjunctive (i) Time clauses in the future
Apart from WEIRDO, the subjunctive is also used after the following time expressions when the sentence refers to the future. cuando..............................when después de que ..............after en cuanto.........................as soon as hasta que .........................until mientras...........................while tan pronto como............as soon as In the following examples, the subjunctive is only used after cuando and mientras when they are referring to the future:
Hablé con él cuando vino a mi casa............I spoke to him when he came to my house.
Hablaré con él cuando venga a mi casa....I will speak to him when he comes to my house.
Viajamos mientras ellos trabajan. .............. We travel while they work.
Viajaremos mientras ellos trabajen........... We will travel while they work.
(ii) Conjunctions that are ALWAYS followed by the subjunctive
a fin de que......................so that a condición de que........on the condition that a menos que....................unless a no ser que.....................unless antes de que ...................before con tal de que.................provided that en caso que .....................in case para que...........................so that sin que ..............................without
Enciendo una vela para que pueda ver. ....I light a candle so that he can see.
No voy a la fiesta a menos que vengas......I’m not going to the party unless you’re coming.
D.3 Escribe el presente del subjuntivo del verbo entre paréntesis.
1. Ojalá que nosotros no ___________________ (tener) un examen hoy. 2. Espero que ___________________ (hacer) sol mañana. 3. Iremos a Wicklow cuando tú ___________________ (venir) a Irlanda. 4. La profesora insiste en que yo ___________________ (terminar) los ejercicios. 5. Estoy contento de que Álvaro ___________________ (poder) venir con nosotros. 6. Es malo que ___________________ (haber) tantos problemas en su empresa. 7. Dudo que ellos ___________________ (saber) nuestro número de teléfono. 8. A Juan le gusta que vosotros ___________________ (estar) aquí. 9. El profesor está enojado de que nosotros ___________________ (dormir) durante su clase. 10. No te daré el dinero a menos que tú ___________________ (hacer) las tareas. 11. Saldremos tan pronto como ella ___________________ (llegar) aquí. 12. Me gustaría viajar con Miguel pero no creo que ___________________ (ser) posible.
D.4 Discutid en parejas o en grupos de tres o cuatro personas. En cada una de las frases del ejercicio de arriba, decidid por qué hay que usar el subjuntivo.
D.5 Traduce las frases al español.
1. I want my brother to go to the party this weekend. 2. My parents hope that I will come to my grandparents’ house. 3. It is important that the government does something to help. 4. Carlos is sad that Ana cannot go out with him tonight. 5. The doctor recommends that we eat more fresh vegetables. 6. I doubt that they will buy those t-shirts. They’re so expensive! 7. When I have the money, I will buy that dress in the shop window. 8. The sales assistant recommends that I try on the trousers. 9. It’s a shame that they don’t have a bigger size for you. 10. My mum likes to buy me clothes, but I prefer that she gives me the money!
D.6 ¿Subjuntivo o no? Elige la forma correcta del verbo.
1. Es importante que nosotros (estudiamos/estudiemos/estudiar) para el examen. 2. Es importante (estudiamos/estudiemos/estudiar) para el examen. 3. Cuando (vienes/vengas/viniste) mañana, iremos a la playa. 4. Cuando (vienes/vengas/viniste) a Irlanda en 2018, hizo mucho calor. 5. Es posible que ella (tiene/tenga/tener) problemas con los deberes. 6. Es obvio que ella (tiene/tenga/tener) problemas con los deberes. 7. ¿Tú quieres (bebes/bebas/beber) el refresco? 8. ¿Tú quieres que yo (bebo/beba/beber) el refresco? 9. Tengo miedo de (viajo/viaje/viajar). 10. Tengo miedo de que ellos (viajan/viajen/viajar).
