A Beginners Look at the Subjunctive Mood in Spanish

One of the most confusing aspects of Spanish for beginners is the subjunctive mood. In fact, it usually isnt taught, at least to those using English as a first language, until at least the intermediate level. But even as a beginning Spanish student, you should be aware of what role the subjunctive mood plays, if only so you can recognize it when you come across it in speech or reading. What is the Subjunctive Mood? The mood of a verb, sometimes known as its mode, indicates what type of role it plays in a sentence and/or the speakers attitude toward it. For the most part, in English as well as Spanish, the most common verb mood is the indicative mood. In general, it is the normal verb form, indicating both action and state of being. Both Spanish and English have two other verb moods. One of them is the imperative mood, used in making direct commands. For example. the Spanish Hazlo, and its direct English equivalent, Do it, use a verb in the imperative mood. A third mood, extremely common in Spanish and other Romance languages such as French and Italian, is the subjunctive mood. The subjunctive mood also exists in English, although we dont use it very much and its use is less common than it used to be. (The were in if I were you is an example of the subjunctive mood in English.) Without limiting yourself much, you can speak English for days and get by without using a subjunctive form. But that isnt true in Spanish. The subjunctive mood is essential to Spanish, and even many simple types of statements cant be made properly without it. In general, the subjunctive is a verb mood that is used to express an action or state of being in the context of the speakers reaction to it. Most commonly (although not always), the subjunctive verb is used in a clause that starts with the relative pronoun que (meaning which, that or who). Frequently, the sentences that contain a subjunctive verb are used to express doubt, uncertainty, denial, desire, commands, or reactions to the clause containing the subjunctive verb. Comparing the Indicative and Subjunctive Moods The most important differences between indicative and subjunctive moods can be seen by comparing two simple sentences: Indicative: Los hombres trabajan. (The men are working.)Subjunctive: Espero que los hombres trabajen. (I hope the men are working.) The first sentence is in the indicative mood, and the mens working is stated as a fact. In the second sentence, the mens working is placed in the context of what the speaker hopes for. It isnt particularly important to the sentence whether men work or not; what is important is the speakers reaction to it. Note also that while the Spanish distinguishes the subjunctive through the conjugation of trabajar, no such distinction is made in English. Although not common, sometimes a Spanish sentence using the subjunctive is translated to English using the subjunctive: Indicative: Insisto que Britney està ¡ sana. (I insist that Britney is healthy.)Subjunctive: Insisto en que Britney està © feliz. (I insist that Britney be happy.) Note how the first sentence in both languages asserts Britneys health as a fact. But in the second sentence, her health is stated as a strong desire. Insist is one of very few verbs in English that can trigger the subjunctive mood, but Spanish has thousands of such verbs. The following sentences show other reasons for using the subjunctive; note how a distinctive subjunctive form is used in English in only the final translation. Indicative (statement of fact): Britney està ¡ sana. (Britney is healthy.)Indicative (statement of fact): Sà © que Britney està ¡ sana. (I know that Britney is healthy.)Subjunctive (doubt): No es cierto que Britney està © sana. (It is uncertain that Britney is healthy.)Subjunctive (likelihood): Es probable que Britney està © sana. (It is likely that Britney is healthy.)Subjunctive (denial): No es verdad que Britney està © sana. (It is not true that Britney is healthy.)Subjunctive (reaction): Estoy feliz que Britney està © sana. (I am happy that Britney is healthy.)Subjunctive (permission): Es prohibido que Britney està ¡ sana. (It is prohibited for Britney to be healthy.)Subjunctive (desire): Espero que Britney està © sana. (I hope that Britney is healthy.)Subjunctive (preference): Preferimos que Britney està © sana. (We prefer that Britney be healthy.) Recognizing the Subjunctive Mood In everyday Spanish, the subjunctive is used in only two of the simple tenses, the present and the imperfect (a type of past tense). Although Spanish has a future subjunctive, it is nearly obsolete. While you may not need to memorize the subjunctive conjugations as a beginning Spanish student, becoming familiar with them can help you learn to recognize them.. Here are the subjunctive forms for regular -ar verbs, using hablar as an example: Present subjunctive: yo hable, tà º hables, usted/à ©l/ella hable, nosotros/nosotras hablemos, vosotros/vosotras hablà ©is, ellos/ellas hablen.Imperfect subjunctive: yo hablara, tà º hablara, usted/à ©l/ella hablara, nosotros/nosotras hablaramos, vosotros/vosotras hablareis, ellos/ellas hablaren. (There are two forms of the imperfect subjunctive. This one is the more common.) And the subjunctive forms for regular -er and -ir verbs using beber as an example: Present subjunctive: yo beba, tà º bebas, usted/à ©l/ella beba, nosotros/nosotras bebamos, vosotros/vosotras bebà ¡is, ellos/ellas beban.Imperfect subjunctive: yo bebiera, tà º bebieras, usted/à ©l/ella bebiera, nosotros/nosotras bebià ©ramos, vosotros/vosotras bebierais, ellos/ellas bebieran. The subjunctive perfect tenses and progressive tenses are formed by using the appropriate subjunctive form of haber or estar followed by the appropriate participle. Key Takeaways The subjunctive mood is a key aspect of Spanish grammar and is much more common in Spanish than it is in English.The subjunctive is used primarily for viewing a verbs action from the perspective of the speaker rather than stating it as a fact.The subjunctive mood is used in the present and imperfect tenses.