The Spanish Subjunctive Explained

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The subjunctive can be confusing to many English speaking students of Spanish due to the fact it is rarely used in English. I am assuming that, because you are reading this post on the subjunctive in Spanish, that you are probably familiar with the most commonly used verb mood which is the indicative. The indicative is a verb mood that all of your initial verb studies would have been in and it is therefore considered the normal verb form as it indicates both action and state of being, there is also the distinct possiblility that you may also be aware of the formation and use of the imperative mood which is used when giving commands {if not, an explanation can be found on this blog}. The Subjunctive, however, is used to express a wish, a strong emotional attitude, or an uncertainty.

In general, the subjunctive is a verb mood that is used to express an action or state of being in the context of the speaker’s reaction to it. It is often the case, although not always, that the subjunctive mood is used in dependent clauses introduced by que (which, that, who). It is common to use a subjunctive verb in sentences that express doubt, uncertainty, denial, desire/wish, commands, reactions or a strong emotional attitude to the sentence containing the subjunctive verb.

Here are some examples comparing the Indicative and Subjunctive:

Indicative:

• Jose almuerza. (Jose is having lunch)

Subjunctive:

• Wish= Espero que Jose almuerce. (I hope that Jose is having lunch)
• Desire= Te ruego que almuerces (I beg you to have lunch)
• Doubt= Dudo que Jose almuerce (I doubt that Jose is having lunch).

• Indicative (statement of fact): Jose almuerza. (Jose is having lunch)
• Indicative (statement of fact): Sé que Jose almuerza. (I know that Jose is having lunch)

• Subjunctive (doubt): No es cierto que Jose almuerce. (It is uncertain that Jose is having lunch.)
• Subjunctive (denial): No es verdad que Jose almuerce. (It is not true that Jose is having lunch)
• Subjunctive (reaction): Estoy feliz que Jose almuerce. (I am happy that Jose is having lunchg)
• Subjunctive (wish): Espero que Jose almuerce (I hope that Jose is having lunch)
• Subjunctive (desire/wish): Prefiero que Jose almuerce (I prefer that Jose is having lunch).

When making formal commands the subjunctive is also used:

• ¡Tenga Ud eso! (Have this!)

This is also the case when making informal commands that are negative:

• ¡No almuerces! (Don´t have lunch!)

For commands that mean encouragement:

• ¡Almorcemos! (Let’s have lunch!).

And after impressional statements:

• Es necesario que/ insisto que Jose almuerce... (I insist that Jose has lunch).

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For more interesting and informative reading check out my previous post about Ser Subjunctive conjugation

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