Spanish subjunctive verb tenses

The subjunctive in Spanish is divided into several verb tenses, each with its own use.

The present subjunctive Spanish is used for present or future actions with uncertainty or subjectivity. Below you will find examples with the three verb endings (-ar, -er, -ir) conjugated in the present subjunctive Spanish:

• Hablar (Talk): Yo hable, Tú hables, Él/Ella hable, Nosotros hablemos, Vosotros habléis, Ellos hablen.
• Comer (Eat): Yo coma, Tú comas, Él/Ella coma, Nosotros comamos, Vosotros comáis, Ellos coman.
• Vivir (Live): Yo viva, Tú vivas, Él/Ella viva, Nosotros vivamos, Vosotros viváis, Ellos vivan.

The imperfect subjunctive is used for hypothetical situations in the past or in conditional sentences.

• Hablar: Yo hablara/hablase, Tú hablaras/hablases, Él/Ella hablara/hablase, Nosotros habláramos/hablásemos, Vosotros hablarais/hablaseis, Ellos hablaran/hablasen.
• Comer: Yo comiera/comiese, Tú comieras/comieses, Él/Ella comiera/comiese, Nosotros comiéramos/comiésemos, Vosotros comierais/comieseis, Ellos comieran/comiesen.
• Vivir: Yo viviera/viviese, Tú vivieras/vivieses, Él/Ella viviera/viviese, Nosotros viviéramos/viviésemos, Vosotros vivierais/vivieseis, Ellos vivieran/viviesen.

The past subjunctive in Spanish is used to express past actions that are relevant in the present.

• Hablar: Yo haya hablado, Tú hayas hablado, Él/Ella haya hablado, Nosotros hayamos hablado, Vosotros hayáis hablado, Ellos hayan hablado.
• Comer: Yo haya comido, Tú hayas comido, Él/Ella haya comido, Nosotros hayamos comido, Vosotros hayáis comido, Ellos hayan comido.
• Vivir: Yo haya vivido, Tú hayas vivido, Él/Ella haya vivido, Nosotros hayamos vivido, Vosotros hayáis vivido, Ellos hayan vivido.

The past perfect subjunctive is used to talk about past actions that happened before another past action, or in unreal conditional sentences.

• Hablar: Yo hubiera/hubiese hablado, Tú hubieras/hubieses hablado, Él/Ella hubiera/hubiese hablado, Nosotros hubiéramos/hubiésemos hablado, Vosotros hubierais/hubieseis hablado, Ellos hubieran/hubiesen hablado.
• Comer: Yo hubiera/hubiese comido, Tú hubieras/hubieses comido, Él/Ella hubiera/hubiese comido, Nosotros hubiéramos/hubiésemos comido, Vosotros hubierais/hubieseis comido, Ellos hubieran/hubiesen comido.
• Vivir: Yo hubiera/hubiese vivido, Tú hubieras/hubieses vivido, Él/Ella hubiera/hubiese vivido, Nosotros hubiéramos/hubiésemos vivido, Vosotros hubierais/hubieseis vivido, Ellos hubieran/hubiesen vivido.

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If you are studying Spanish, one of the most difficult topics to master may be verb conjugations. The Spanish language has many possible conjugations, three different modes, depending on the ending of the verb, the person or the tense.

One of these modes is the Spanish subjunctive, which is one of the verb tenses used in the language to conjugate verbs. The other two modes are the indicative and the imperative. The subjunctive may be one of the most complex. Have you ever wondered how or when to use the subjunctive in Spanish?

You're in the right place! In this donQuijote article, you will learn everything you need to master the Spanish subjunctive mode and speak like a native. Do you want to learn Spanish in Spain? In our schools, you will find everything you need to do so, and our teachers will help you use the Spanish subjunctive in a natural way.

You can also read this article in Spanish, French or Italian.

What is the Spanish subjunctive?

The Spanish subjunctive mode is used to express desires, doubts, emotions, hypotheses, possibilities or unconfirmed situations. It is divided into several tenses: present subjunctive in Spanish, past subjunctive in Spanish, imperfect subjunctive, future subjunctive in Spanish: simple and perfect.

In addition, the subjunctive includes some of the verb tenses that are not often used in everyday but are used in literature in Spanish. Therefore, it is necessary that you know them in case you come across this mode in one of your novels to learn Spanish. And, unlike the indicative mode, which is used to talk about real and concrete facts, the subjunctive mode expresses subjective or hypothetical situations.

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Spanish subjunctive

Spanish subjunctive. Discover how to use this verb tense and when to use the present, past and future subjunctive, also the imperfect subjunctive in Spanish.

Grammar Spanish subjunctive. Discover how to use this verb tense and when to use the present, past and future subjunctive, also the imperfect subjunctive in Spanish. Spanish subjunctive, future subjunctive in spanish, imperfect subjunctive, imperfect subjunctive in spanish, past subjunctive in spanish, present subjunctive spanish, spanish subjunctive conjugation, spanish subjunctive tense Off Marta Díaz

As a review: the main difference between definite Spanish articles (el, la, los, las, lo) and indefinite Spanish articles (un, una, unos, unas) lies in the degree of specificity. Definite articles in Spanish are used when you talk about something specific that you already know or that you can clearly identify. In contrast, indefinite articles in Spanish are used to refer to something unspecific or unknown.

Using the right article helps differentiate whether the noun is something concrete or general. When reading or listening to Spanish, look closely at the articles and how they accompany nouns. This way you will become familiar with them, and you will be able to distinguish them and use them without any problem.

Now all you need to do is practice, sign up for an intensive Spanish course, talk to your classmates and practice watching Spanish series and movies in their original version. Don't miss your chance and start improving your Spanish now!

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Common errors in the use of Spanish articles

In Spanish, articles are almost always used with nouns, but they may not be used in your language.

• It would be incorrect to say “Perro está en jardín”
• The correct form would be: “El perro está en el jardín”

You should also not confuse gender and number, as the Spanish article must always agree with the noun.

• It is incorrect to say “el mesa”
• It would be correct to say “la mesa”

Beware of the neuter article “lo”. Although it is not very common, this article exists, and you can see it in some sentences. “Lo” is not a regular article, but is used with adjectives, abstract concepts or ideas, qualities or generalized ideas. For example:

• Lo importante es estudiar todos los días (The important thing is to study every day)
• Me encanta lo bonito de este lugar (I love how beautiful this place is)
• Lo mejor de las vacaciopnes fue la comida (The best part of the vacation was the food)

Examples with Spanish articles

Here are some sentences with definite and indefinite articles in Spanish so that you can see the use and position of each one:

• La casa es muy bonita (The house is very nice)
• Vi un coche rojo en la calle (I saw a red car in the street)
• Compré una flor para mi madre (I bought a flower for my mother)
• Los niños están jugando en el parque (The children are playing in the park)
• Las estrellas brillan mucho esta noche (The stars are very bright tonight)
• Necesito unos zapatos nuevos (I need some new shoes)
• Compré unas manzanas en el mercado (I bought some apples at the market)
• Fuimos al cine ayer (We went to the movies yesterday)
• La portada del libro es muy interesante (The cover of the book is very interesting)
• No me gusta el ruido de la ciudad (I don't like the noise of the city)
• ¿Dónde está la llave del coche? (Where is the car key?)
• Me encontré con un amigo de la infancia (I met a childhood friend)
• Ella es una persona muy generosa (She is a very generous person)
• Los perros de la vecina siempre ladran por la noche (The neighbor's dogs always bark at night)
• El gato duerme en el sofá (The cat sleeps on the sofa)

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When to use articles in Spanish?

In Spanish, articles are important because they help you identify whether you are talking about something specific or not, and to know the gender and number of nouns.

Definite Spanish articles are used when you want to talk about something specific or that you already know.

• El perro está en el jardín (The dog is in the garden) A specific dog that everyone knows. A garden that everyone knows where it is.
• La casa es grande (The house is big) We are talking about a specific house.
• Los niños están jugando (The children are playing) A specific group of children.
• Las flores son hermosas (The flowers are beautiful) Flowers that can be identified.

A rule of thumb that can help you with the use of these articles is that when both you and the other person know what thing or person you are talking about, definite Spanish articles are used.

Indefinite Spanish articles, on the other hand, are used when you are talking about something non-specific, that is, something you don't know well, or it doesn't matter exactly what it is.

• He visto un gato en la calle (I saw a cat in the street) We don't know which cat it was.
• Dame una taza de té, por favor (Give me a cup of tea, please) Any cup will do.
• Compré unos libros interesantes (I bought some interesting books) Some books, not specific.
• Encontré unas fotos viejas (I found some old photos) Photos, not specific.

A rule of thumb for knowing when to use indefinite Spanish articles: when you talk about something that is not known to everyone or that you don't need to specify.

Another tricky aspect of Spanish articles is knowing how to choose gender and number. The first thing you need to know is that the Spanish article must match the gender and number of the noun it accompanies.

For example: un libro, el libro, los libros or una flor, la flor, las flores.

Also, when the definite Spanish article “el” is combined with the prepositions “a” or “de”, a contraction is formed: “al”: a + el and “del”: de + el. For example: Es el libro del professor de matemáticas (It is the math teacher's book).

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