Understanding the Subjunctive Mood in Spanish

To learn any new language, understanding its grammar is as important as learning vocabulary. While learning Spanish, one of the more challenging aspects students encounter is the subjunctive mood. The subjunctive mood is a grammatical mood used to express various states of unreality, such as doubt, possibility, necessity, or action that has not yet occurred. This mood may seem elusive at first, but by breaking it down, we can make it more understandable and less daunting. Let’s take a deep dive into the subjunctive mood in Spanish.

What Is The Subjunctive Mood?

In Spanish, verbs are not just conjugated based on tense, but also mood. While tense refers to when an action takes place (past, present, future), the mood is a grammatical feature that indicates the speaker’s attitude towards that action. Spanish verbs have three moods: indicative, imperative, and subjunctive. The indicative mood is used to express factual information, certainty, and objectivity. The imperative mood is used for commands or direct requests. Then we have the subjunctive mood, which is often used to express doubt, uncertainty, subjectivity, or a hypothetical situation.

Subjunctive Conjugation

The subjunctive mood changes the verb endings in a different way than the indicative mood. This change occurs mainly in the present and past tenses. Let’s look at the most regular verbs for each verb ending.

Present Subjunctive Conjugation

Let’s take three basic verbs: hablar (to speak), comer (to eat), and vivir (to live).

Subject	Hablar	Comer	Vivir
yo	hable	coma	viva
tú	hables	comas	vivas
él/ella/usted	hable	coma	viva
nosotros/as	hablemos	comamos	vivamos
vosotros/as	habléis	comáis	viváis
ellos/ellas/ustedes	hable	coma	viva

As you can see, the endings change, but the stems remain the same.

Past Subjunctive Conjugation

The past subjunctive is most often used in “if” clauses and it is conjugated by taking the third person plural preterite form, dropping the -ron ending, and adding the past subjunctive endings.

Subject	Hablar	Comer	Vivir
yo	hablara or hablase	comiera or comiese	viviera or viviese
tú	hablaras or hablases	comieras or comieses	vivieras or vivieses
él/ella/usted	hablara or hablase	comiera or comiese	viviera or viviese
nosotros/as	habláramos or hablásemos	comiéramos or comiésemos	viviéramos or viviésemos
vosotros/as	hablarais or hablaseis	comierais or comieseis	vivierais or vivieseis
ellos/ellas/ustedes	hablaran or hablasen	comieran or comiesen	vivieran or viviesen

The ‘ra’ and ‘se’ forms are interchangeable, though the ‘ra’ form is more common.

When To Use The Subjunctive Mood

Knowing when to use the subjunctive can be quite a challenge because it involves a different mindset. English doesn’t have a subjunctive mood, so it doesn’t translate directly. But there are specific scenarios in Spanish when it becomes necessary to use the subjunctive.

1. Wishes and Desires: The subjunctive is used when expressing desires or wishes. For instance, “Espero que tú vengas” translates to “I hope that you come.”
2. Doubt, Uncertainty, and Disbelief: When expressing doubt or disbelief, use the subjunctive. For example, “Dudo que él tenga razón” translates to “I doubt he is right.”
3. Emotions and Feelings: The subjunctive mood is used when expressing feelings or emotions about a situation or action. For example, “Me alegra que te guste la música” translates to “I’m glad that you like the music.”
4. Impersonal Expressions: When an impersonal expression precedes the verb, use the subjunctive mood. An example is “Es importante que estudies” which means “It’s important that you study.”
5. Advice and Recommendations: When giving advice or making recommendations, use the subjunctive. For instance, “Es mejor que duermas ocho horas” translates to “It’s better that you sleep eight hours.”
6. Hypothetical Situations and Future Events: The subjunctive is used to express hypothetical situations or future events that may or may not happen. For example, “Si tuviera más tiempo, viajaría más” translates to “If I had more time, I would travel more.”
7. After Certain Conjunctions: Some conjunctions trigger the use of the subjunctive, especially when they express doubt, uncertainty, or conditionality, like “a menos que” (unless), “antes de que” (before), “en caso de que” (in case), “para que” (so that), “sin que” (without).

Understanding The Subjunctive: Practice Makes Perfect

Learning when to use the subjunctive involves getting familiar with a new way of thinking about language, and it can take a little time to feel comfortable with it. Practice is key in mastering the subjunctive mood. Linguno‘s conjugation exercises are the perfect tool to improve your skills, as they offer a large number of exercises where you can practise the subjunctive mood in context, which is key to learning the patterns.

Remember, the subjunctive mood is an essential part of the Spanish language, and mastering it will significantly improve your fluency. It’s a tool that will allow you to express complex thoughts and emotions, making your Spanish more rich and nuanced. So don’t shy away from it – embrace the subjunctive, and your Spanish will thank you!