How to Form the Subjunctive in Spanish in the Present Tense

In this post we’ll look at how to form the present subjunctive in Spanish. If you’re one of those Spanish students who gets nervous thinking about the subjunctive, don’t! It’s honestly not terribly complicated, and we’re going to break it down and explain it step by step. First, we’ll start by defining exactly what the subjunctive is. (You can see how to use the subjunctive in this post.) Then we’ll turn to how to form the subjunctive, which you’ll see is not very difficult at all. We’ll start with the subjunctive of completely regular verbs. Next, we’ll look at verbs with slight irregularities in their yo form, like salgo or pongo. After that we’ll look at stem changing verbs in the subjunctive. Finally, we’ll look at the very few verbs that are truly irregular in the subjunctive. Along the way, we’ll have plenty of practice and examples.

What is the Subjunctive?

When you speak about facts or reality, you use the indicative mood. The indicative indicates the real world. By contrast, the subjunctive mood is used when a speaker wants to express uncertainty, wishes, emotions, doubts, or hypothetical situations. If the indicative conveys facts about the real world, the subjunctive conveys attitudes or subjective viewpoints.

Believe it or not, there is a subjunctive in English. It’s very limited, and it sounds a bit formal, but it does exist. Compare these two English examples:

• You are always on time.
  This is the indicative. It uses the regular old verb are. It is stating a fact.
• It is essential that you be on time.
  The underlined that clause is the subjunctive. It uses the form be instead of are, because it isn’t expressing a fact, but rather a wish or a demand or a requirement that may or may not be true.

If you keep this in mind, you’ll understand how the subjunctive is used in Spanish. The major difference between English and Spanish is that the subjunctive in Spanish is much more common, so it’s used in far more circumstances. But you can always understand why it’s used based on this pair of sentences in English.

Forming the Present Subjunctive in Spanish

The subjunctive is easy to form. All you have to do is follow this three steps:

1. Start with the yo form of the present indicative.
2. Take off the -o ending.
3. Add endings with the opposite vowel:
   -ar verbs → -e, -es, -e, -emos, -éis, -en
   -er and -ir verbs → -a, -as, -a, -amos, -áis, -an

Remember that –ar verb endings include –a-: –as, –a, amos, –an. And –er and –ir verbs have –e-: –es, –e, –emos, –en. In the subjunctive, you switch that up and use the –e– endings for –ar verbs, and the –a– ending for –er and –ir verbs. Notice that there’s no –o in the yo form of the subjunctive; the yo forms are the same as the él/ella/usted forms.

Let’s break that down step-by-step.

There are a few spelling changes that you’ll have to keep in mind when switching from -a endings to -e endings.

• -car verbs: c changes to qu. For example, buscar (to search) > busque
• -gar verbs: g changes to gu. For example, pagar (to pay) > pague
• -zar verbs: z changes to c. For example, comenzar (to begin) > comience
• -cer/-cir verbs: c changes to z. For example, vencer (to conquer) > venza
• -ger/-gir verbs: g changes to j. For example, dirigir (to direct) > dirija 

Practice 1

Follow the steps in the table above to give the full present subjunctive conjugation of these verbs.

1. trabajar (to work)
2. buscar (to search for)
3. beber (to drink)
4. vivir (to live)

Verbs with Irregular Yo Forms

Remember that a lot of verbs have irregular yo forms. These irregularities carry over to the subjunctive, which is why you want to start with the yo form. (You may be wondering about stem changing verbs. We’ll come back to them in a moment!)

Practice 2

Follow the steps in the table above to give the full present subjunctive conjugation of these verbs. Remember to start with the yo forms!

1. poner (to put)
2. traducir (to translate)
3. venir (to come)

Stem Changing Verbs in the Present Subjunctive in Spanish

As you know, many verbs have stem vowel changes when they’re conjugated in the present indicative. These verbs fall into three different categories, and the stem changes happen in all forms but the nosotros and vosotros forms:

• pensar (to think)
  e>ie: pienso, piensas, piensa, pensamos, pensáis, piensan
• mostrar (to show)
  o>ue: muestro, muestras, muestra, mostramos, mostráis, muestran
• pedir (to ask for)
  e>i: pido, pides, pide, pedimos, pedís, piden

Since you start with the yo forms to find the subjunctive stem, you’ll carry over these stem changes. Then you’ll use the same subjunctive endings as you saw above. There are only two extra points to keep in mind.

1. For –ar and –er verbs, the stem changes in the subjunctive are just like the stem changes in the indicative. That is, they affect all forms except nosotros and vosotros.
2. For –ir verbs, it depends on the stem change:
   • e>i stem changes happen in all forms
   • o>ue stem changes use u in the nosotros and vostros forms, and ue in others
   • e>ie stem changes use i in the nosotros and vosotros forms, and ie in others

Let’s break that down further with examples.

-ar and -er Stem Changing Verbs in the Subjunctive

Here are a few –ar and –er stem changing verbs. Notice that they keep the stem changes for all forms but nosotros and vosotros. But in those two forms, they revert back to the vowel of the infinitive.

-ir Stem Changing Verbs in the Subjunctive 1: e>i

Here are some examples of e>i stem changing –ir verbs. Notice that the stem vowel change happens in every form, including nosotros and vosotros.  

-ir Stem Changing Verbs in the Subjunctive 2: o>ue

Here are some examples of o>ue stem changing –ir verbs. They keep the ue stem change in all forms, but they use u in the nosotros and vostros forms.

-ir Stem Changing Verbs in the Subjunctive 3: e>ie

Finally, here are some examples of e>ie stem changing –ir verbs. They keep the ie stem change in all forms, but they use i in the nosotros and vosotros

Practice 3

Let’s practice the subjunctive forms of stem changing verbs. Give the full subjunctive conjugation of each of the following:

1. empezar (to start)
2. perder (to lose)
3. mentir (to lie)
4. poder (can, to be able)
5. jugar (to play)
6. repetir (to repeat)

Irregular Verbs in the Present Subjunctive in Spanish

Now let’s look at a few common verbs that have irregular forms in the subjunctive.

Practice 4

Fill in the missing forms of these irregular subjunctive verbs.

1. vaya, _____, vaya, vayamos, vayáis, _____
2. _____, des, _____, demos, deis, _____
3. sea, _____, _____, seamos, seáis, _____
4. esté, _____, _____, estemos, estéis, estén
5. _____, sepas, _____, _____, sepáis, sepan

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Answer Key

1

1. trabajar (to work): trabaje, trabjes, trabaje, trabajemos, trabajéis, trabajen
2. buscar (to look for): busque, busques, busque, busquemos, busquéis, busquen
3. beber (to drink): beba, bebas, beba, bebamos, bebáis, beban
4. vivir (to live): viva, vivas, viva, vivamos, viváis, vivan

2

1. poner (to put): ponga, pongas, ponga, pongamos, pongáis, pongan
2. traducir (to translate): traduzca, traduzcas, traduzca, traduzcamos, traduzcáis, traduzcan
3. venir (to come): venga, vengas, venga, vengamos, vengáis, vengan

3

1. empezar (to start): empiece, empieces, empiece, empecemos, empecéis, empiecen
2. perder (to lose): pierda, pierdas, pierda, perdamos, perdáis, pierdan
3. mentir (to lie): mienta, mientas, mienta, mintamos, mintáis, mientan
4. poder (can, to be able): pueda, puedas, pueda, podamos, podáis, puedan
5. repetir (to repeat): repita, repitas, repita, repitamos, repitáis, repitan

4

1. vayas, vayan
2. dé, dé, den
3. seas, sea, sean
4. estés, esté
5. sepa, sepa, sepamos

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