Spanish Subjunctive Starts With the Trigger, Not the Endings

What does a trigger look like?

Most triggers fit one frame. A first verb sets it off, que links it, a new subject follows, and that subject's verb is in the subjunctive.

The new subject matters. If you want something for yourself, there is no second person involved, so you keep the infinitive, the "to" form of the verb: Quiero ir a la biblioteca. Say that, then say Quiero que salgas. FSI says the frame "usually" works this way and calls neither condition strictly required, so treat it as a strong pattern.

One trigger needs no frame. Ojalá, which FSI glosses as something like "would to God," takes the form on its own: Ojalá tengas suerte. and Ojalá te vaya bien.

English has leftovers of this form, which FSI uses to explain it: "I move that the proposal be tabled," "Thy kingdom come," "if he were to come." Those sound formal or old to you. FSI's point is that the Spanish form carries no such flavor. It belongs to everyday talk.

Starting here and not with tables is this site's choice, not a finding from FSI. Its reason is simple: you can say a whole sentence today with only one form you've met.

Which verbs set it off?

FSI sorts these verbs into three groups: pushing your will on someone, doubt, and emotion. It puts esperar (to hope) with the emotions. Its lists aren't complete, and it says so.

Without a trigger, Spanish uses its ordinary verb form, which grammar books call the indicative. The meaning of the first verb decides which one you need, not its spelling. Say both sides of these two pairs.

FSI adds a wrinkle on no creo que: a speaker can use either form, and the choice shows how much doubt they mean. This site's House routine is to use the subjunctive as your default there.

In Dice que venga, the venga form is the one for usted, so the "you" is formal. The same form also works for he or she, and for I: he says she should come, or he says I should come. Said to a friend as tú, it would be vengas.

What about "it is" phrases?

Phrases built on es plus a describing word work the same way when they lack certainty. FSI lists necessary, better, possible, important, probable and a pity, among others.

Certainty phrases go the other way, until you negate them. Say this pair and listen to the second verb change.

With no person named, you don't need the frame at all. Use the infinitive: Es importante aprender alemán. (It is important to learn German.)

What about someone you haven't found yet?

If you have a specific person in mind, use the indicative. If anyone will do, or nobody may exist, use the subjunctive. Say these two and hear the difference between habla and hable.

Decide by whether you have someone specific in mind, not by the little word before the noun. FSI says that after el or la there, the indicative is near certain, while un or una only makes the subjunctive likely. It warns that "a person" can still mean someone you met yesterday, and then the indicative is right: Tengo un hijo que está enfermo. (I have a son who's sick.) And it stresses that the form doesn't create the vagueness. It only expresses vagueness that's already there.

Which connectors always call for it?

FSI's list of connectors that always take the subjunctive is short enough to learn: antes de que (before), para que (so that), con tal de que (provided that), en caso de que (in case), sin que (without), a menos que (unless).

FSI says these connectors suggest something not yet done, and that they take the subjunctive whenever a conjugated verb follows. A new subject isn't what calls for it. In the last sentence above, both verbs are about you, and quieras is still subjunctive. What a new subject changes is your options. FSI shows that with sin: with the same subject you can also say sin plus the "to" form, and with a different subject only sin que works. FSI shows that choice only with sin, so don't assume every connector has a "to" form.

When can the same word go either way?

Words like cuando (when), en cuanto and tan pronto como (as soon as) and hasta que (until) depend on whether the event has happened yet.

More pending ones to say: En cuanto llegue, avísame. (let me know as soon as he comes), Tan pronto como llegue se lo diré. (as soon as he arrives, I'll tell him), and Esperaré aquí hasta que vuelva. (I will wait here until he comes back).

FSI lists aunque (even though, even if) in the same group, with a done-or-pending pair of its own, and the aunque row in the table follows that pattern. That contrast is as far as this page's sources go on aunque, so learn those two sentences as they are, and check other aunque sentences with a tutor before you change their verb.

The pending form is most common after a future idea or a command, FSI notes, and it says there are exceptions. English "when" gives you no warning here. "When you get there" uses a plain present, and Spanish doesn't.

Which endings do you need?

Now the table. In the present subjunctive, the verb swaps its usual vowel: -ar verbs take e, and -er and -ir verbs take a.

In Spain, the vosotros form ends in -éis for -ar verbs and -áis for -er and -ir verbs, such as ayudéis and salgáis. Trayectos, an open course from COERLL, uses vos for familiar "you" in Argentina and Uruguay. If the people you'll talk to use vos, copy their forms.

To get the stem, FSI says you can usually take the "I" form of the present and drop the -o: tengo gives tenga, salgo gives salga. FSI names six exceptions: ser (sea), estar (esté), ir (vaya), dar (dé), saber (sepa) and haber (haya). That "I" form trick stops working in the first person plural of verbs whose stem vowel changes. FSI says the change only shows up where the stress falls on the stem, so poder gives pueda but podamos, and querer gives quiera but queramos. It says that always holds for -ar and -er verbs. Some -ir verbs go a third way there: dormir gives duerma but durmamos, and sentir gives sienta but sintamos. Wiktionary's tables give the Spain-only vosotros form the same stem as the first person plural: podáis, durmáis, sintáis. So for verbs whose stem vowel changes, don't build the first person plural or the vosotros form from the "I" form; check them in the conjugation lookup. Other verbs keep the "I" stem: salgo gives salgamos.

There's also a past subjunctive, which you'll see in sentences like Ojalá lloviera. (I wish it would rain). FSI holds it until Unit 47, and this page does the same.

How do you practice it today?

Pick 3 triggers from this page. Keep the trigger the same and change the person after que. The verb's ending follows that new person, so check it in the endings table above. Say you pick quiero que: start with Quiero que salgas., said to one friend. About Tom, it becomes Quiero que Tom salga a jugar. (I want Tom to go outside and play.) Said to a group, it's Quiero que salgan ahora mismo. (I want you to leave right away.) Go through your list of people with the first trigger, then the second and third. When you reach the end, change the verb, say from salir to comer, and go round again.

Count it in Spoken Minutes. On a 5-minute day, spend 1 minute on yesterday's Cold Say-Back and 4 on the triggers. On a 10-minute day, it's 2 and 8. On a 20-minute day, it's 3, then 10 on the triggers and 7 on the cuando and aunque pairs. On your first day, skip the Cold Say-Back. This split is this site's House routine, untested with learners. Log the minutes in your Mile Log. When a form comes out with a muddy vowel, steady vowels will help, because hable and habla differ by one vowel.

This page pairs with ser vs estar, since sea and esté turn up in these frames. Por vs para is a good next stop, and the two past tenses will help when you get to the past forms. The Spanish starting plan holds advanced grammar like this for later.

Tomorrow, with nothing in front of you, run a Cold Say-Back: say "I want you to listen" and "When you get there, call me" in Spanish, then check them here.