Subjunctive Mood:
The subjunctive mood is not actually a verb tense like the present, past, or future. It expresses the mood of the speaker or the person doing the action. Thus, it gives us an idea of how the person feels about the message he/she is telling us. So, the subjunctive mood expresses uncertainty, doubt, or a subjective opinion from the speaker or writer. The subjunctive mood is used in Spanish, but is not that common in English.
Until now, we have been using the indicative mood. This mood is used to express information that is true, certain, or objective.
Examples:
Tú vas a comer chocolate. (You are going to eat chocolate.) This sentence talks about something that is certain or true. So, the indicative mood is used.
Below is an example of the use of the subjunctive mood
Dudo que vayas a comer chocolate. (I doubt that you are going to eat chocolate.) In this sentence, the person speaking doubts whether the person he/she is talking about is going to eat chocolate or not. Thus, the subjunctive form of the verb (Ir)is used (vayas).
More examples of the subjunctive mood:
To use the subjunctive mood, follow the basic structure below:
Example # 1:
Expression that shows uncertainty/doubt + Pronoun/name + Verb (subjunctive)
No creo que + ella + coma chocolate.
Example # 2:
Expression that foresees an opinion + Pronoun/name + Verb (subjunctive)
Es bueno que + ella + coma chocolate porque es saludable.
Conjugating in the subjunctive
Verbs ending in (-ar)
(Hablar) to speak (Drop the -ar and add the endings you see below)
yo hable nosotros hablemos
tú hables ustedes hablen
él/ella hable ellos hablen
No creo que ella hable con su papa hoy. (I don't believe that she will speak with her father today.) This sentence shows uncertainty about the girl speaking to her dad today.
Verbs ending in (-er)
(Comer) to eat (Drop the -er and add the endings you see below)
yo coma nosotros comamos
tú comas ustedes coman
él/ella coma ellos coman
Elena duda que Susana coma carne en el restaurante. (Elena doubts that Susana will eat meat at the restaurant because she is vegetarian.) This sentence shows uncertainty about Susana eating meat at the restaurant.
Verbs ending in (-ir)
(Escribir) to write (Drop the -ir and add the endings you see below)
yo escriba nosotros escribamos
tú escribas ustedes escriban
él/ella escriba ellos escriban
Es importante que los empleados de la empresa escriban bien para tener éxito. (It is important that the employees of the company know how to write well to succeed.) This sentence shows a subjective opinion on why it is important that the employees of the company write well.
The following list has expressions that indicate that the subjunctive mood needs to be used after the word (que).
The list below is from: www.studyspanish.com
a menos que ...
unless ...
antes (de) que ...
before ...
con tal (de) que ...
provided that ...
cuando ...
when ...
conviene que ...
it is advisable that ...
después (de) que ...
after ...
dudar que ...
to doubt that ...
en caso de que ...
in case ...
en cuanto ...
as soon as ...
es aconsejable que ...
it's advisable that ...
es bueno que ...
it's good that ...
es difícil que ...
it's unlikely that ...
es dudoso que ...
it is doubtful that ...
es fácil que ...
it's likely that ...
es fantástico que ...
it's fantastic that ...
es importante que ...
it's important that ...
es imposible que ...
it's impossible that ...
es improbable que ...
it's unlikely that ...
es incierto que ...
it's uncertain that ...
es increíble que ...
it's incredible that ...
es (una) lástima que ...
it's a pity that ...
es malo que ...
it's bad that ...
es mejor que ...
it's better that ...
es menester que ...
it's necessary that ...
es necesario que ...
it's necessary that ...
esperar que ...
to wish that ...
es posible que ...
it's possible that ...
es preciso que ...
it's necessary that ...
es preferible que ...
it's preferable that ...
es probable que ...
it's probable that ...
es raro que ...
it's rare that ...
es ridículo que ...
it's ridiculous that ...
estar contento que
to be happy that ...
es terrible que ...
it's terrible that ...
hasta que ...
until ...
insistir en que ...
to insist that ...
mandar que ...
to order that ...
más vale que ...
it's better that ...
mientras que ...
while ...
negar que ...
to deny that ...
no creer que ...
not to believe that ...
no es cierto que ...
it's not certain that ...
no estar convencido de que ...
to not be convinced that ...
no estar seguro de que ...
to not be sure that ...
no es verdad que ...
it's not true that ...
no imaginarse que ...
to not imagine that ...
no parecer que ...
to not seem that ...
no pensar que ...
to not think that ...
no suponer que ...
to not suppose that ...
ojalá que ...
if only he would ...
para que ...
in order that ...
pedir que ...
to ask that ...
preferir que ...
to prefer that ...
prohibir que ...
to prohibit that ...
puede ser que ...
it may be that ...
querer que ...
to want that ...
recomendar que ...
to recommend that ...
rogar que ...
to plead that ...
sentir que ...
to regret that ...
sin que ...
without ...
sugerir que ...
to suggest that ...
tan pronto como ...
as soon as ...
temer que ...
to fear that ...
tener miedo de que ...
to be afraid that ...
The subjunctive mood is not actually a verb tense like the present, past, or future. It expresses the mood of the speaker or the person doing the action. Thus, it gives us an idea of how the person feels about the message he/she is telling us. So, the subjunctive mood expresses uncertainty, doubt, or a subjective opinion from the speaker or writer. The subjunctive mood is used in Spanish, but is not that common in English.
Until now, we have been using the indicative mood. This mood is used to express information that is true, certain, or objective.
Examples:
Tú vas a comer chocolate. (You are going to eat chocolate.) This sentence talks about something that is certain or true. So, the indicative mood is used.
Below is an example of the use of the subjunctive mood
Dudo que vayas a comer chocolate. (I doubt that you are going to eat chocolate.) In this sentence, the person speaking doubts whether the person he/she is talking about is going to eat chocolate or not. Thus, the subjunctive form of the verb (Ir)is used (vayas).
More examples of the subjunctive mood:
- Yo quiero que Juan coma chocolate. (I want Juan to eat chocolate.) We are not sure if Juan will eat chocolate or not. Another posibility is that the expression (quiero que) tells us that the person speaking will/might express his opinion on why he/she wants Juan to eat chocolate.. Thus, the subjunctive form of the verb (Comer) is used (coma).
- Yo espero que Juan coma chocolate. (I hope Juan eats chocolate.) We are not sure if Juan will eat chocolate or not. Thus, the subjunctive form of the verb (Comer) is used (coma).
- Es posible que Juan coma chocolate. (It is possible for to Juan to eat chocolate.) We are not sure if Juan will eat chocolate or not. Thus, the subjunctive form of the verb (Comer) is used (coma).
- Es bueno que Juan coma chocolate. (It is good for Juan to eat chocolate.) The expression (Es bueno) tells us that the person speaking will/might express his opinion on why it is good for Juan to eat chocolate. Thus, the subjunctive form of the verb (Comer) is used (coma).
- Es importante que Juan coma chocolate. (It is important for Juan to eat chocolate.) The expression (Es importante) tells us that the person speaking will/might express his opinion on why it is important for Juan to eat chocolate. Thus, the subjunctive form of the verb (Comer) is used (coma).
To use the subjunctive mood, follow the basic structure below:
Example # 1:
Expression that shows uncertainty/doubt + Pronoun/name + Verb (subjunctive)
No creo que + ella + coma chocolate.
Example # 2:
Expression that foresees an opinion + Pronoun/name + Verb (subjunctive)
Es bueno que + ella + coma chocolate porque es saludable.
Conjugating in the subjunctive
Verbs ending in (-ar)
(Hablar) to speak (Drop the -ar and add the endings you see below)
yo hable nosotros hablemos
tú hables ustedes hablen
él/ella hable ellos hablen
No creo que ella hable con su papa hoy. (I don't believe that she will speak with her father today.) This sentence shows uncertainty about the girl speaking to her dad today.
Verbs ending in (-er)
(Comer) to eat (Drop the -er and add the endings you see below)
yo coma nosotros comamos
tú comas ustedes coman
él/ella coma ellos coman
Elena duda que Susana coma carne en el restaurante. (Elena doubts that Susana will eat meat at the restaurant because she is vegetarian.) This sentence shows uncertainty about Susana eating meat at the restaurant.
Verbs ending in (-ir)
(Escribir) to write (Drop the -ir and add the endings you see below)
yo escriba nosotros escribamos
tú escribas ustedes escriban
él/ella escriba ellos escriban
Es importante que los empleados de la empresa escriban bien para tener éxito. (It is important that the employees of the company know how to write well to succeed.) This sentence shows a subjective opinion on why it is important that the employees of the company write well.
The following list has expressions that indicate that the subjunctive mood needs to be used after the word (que).
The list below is from: www.studyspanish.com
a menos que ...
unless ...
antes (de) que ...
before ...
con tal (de) que ...
provided that ...
cuando ...
when ...
conviene que ...
it is advisable that ...
después (de) que ...
after ...
dudar que ...
to doubt that ...
en caso de que ...
in case ...
en cuanto ...
as soon as ...
es aconsejable que ...
it's advisable that ...
es bueno que ...
it's good that ...
es difícil que ...
it's unlikely that ...
es dudoso que ...
it is doubtful that ...
es fácil que ...
it's likely that ...
es fantástico que ...
it's fantastic that ...
es importante que ...
it's important that ...
es imposible que ...
it's impossible that ...
es improbable que ...
it's unlikely that ...
es incierto que ...
it's uncertain that ...
es increíble que ...
it's incredible that ...
es (una) lástima que ...
it's a pity that ...
es malo que ...
it's bad that ...
es mejor que ...
it's better that ...
es menester que ...
it's necessary that ...
es necesario que ...
it's necessary that ...
esperar que ...
to wish that ...
es posible que ...
it's possible that ...
es preciso que ...
it's necessary that ...
es preferible que ...
it's preferable that ...
es probable que ...
it's probable that ...
es raro que ...
it's rare that ...
es ridículo que ...
it's ridiculous that ...
estar contento que
to be happy that ...
es terrible que ...
it's terrible that ...
hasta que ...
until ...
insistir en que ...
to insist that ...
mandar que ...
to order that ...
más vale que ...
it's better that ...
mientras que ...
while ...
negar que ...
to deny that ...
no creer que ...
not to believe that ...
no es cierto que ...
it's not certain that ...
no estar convencido de que ...
to not be convinced that ...
no estar seguro de que ...
to not be sure that ...
no es verdad que ...
it's not true that ...
no imaginarse que ...
to not imagine that ...
no parecer que ...
to not seem that ...
no pensar que ...
to not think that ...
no suponer que ...
to not suppose that ...
ojalá que ...
if only he would ...
para que ...
in order that ...
pedir que ...
to ask that ...
preferir que ...
to prefer that ...
prohibir que ...
to prohibit that ...
puede ser que ...
it may be that ...
querer que ...
to want that ...
recomendar que ...
to recommend that ...
rogar que ...
to plead that ...
sentir que ...
to regret that ...
sin que ...
without ...
sugerir que ...
to suggest that ...
tan pronto como ...
as soon as ...
temer que ...
to fear that ...
tener miedo de que ...
to be afraid that ...