In this Spanish grammar lesson, you will learn when to use the Spanish subjunctive.
In this lesson you will learn about:
- indicative mood vs subjunctive mood
- when to use the Spanish subjunctive
- how the Spanish subjunctive is used in sentences in Spanish
- how you can quiz yourself on when to use the Spanish subjunctive
- how to practice with flashcards on when to use the Spanish subjunctive
- how and why you should use the courses of Language Atlas to learn Spanish
By the end of the lesson you will know all about when to use the Spanish subjunctive!
Table of Contents
Indicative Mood vs Subjunctive Mood
So far we only handled things in the indicative mood.
In the indicative mood, you indicate or report information.
Look at the following sentence:
I know that you can swim
When you say this sentence, you are certain that the other person can swim, and you are reporting this information.
When you use the subjunctive mood, there is an element of uncertainty.
Have a look at this sentence:
I hope that you can swim.
The second part (clause) of this sentence is in the subjunctive.
This is because you are uncertain whether the other person can swim.
In fact, you desire that the other person knows how to swim.
In such a situation you would use the subjunctive.
In sentences with a subjunctive clause, there is generally an indicative clause that is about emotion, desire, ignorance, or an impersonal opinion related to the action in the subjunctive clause.
When to use the Spanish Subjunctive
You will use the Spanish subjunctive when information can fit in any of these categories:
- Emotional statement/comment
- Desire
- Ignorance
- Impersonal opinion
- Uncompleted action
- “Maybe” and “perhaps”
- “Even if”
Emotional Statement/Comment
Whenever you use “emotional/personal feeling + que“, you will use the subjunctive.
Have a look at some examples:
estar
Estoy encantado de que estés aquí.
I am delighted that you are here.
fallar
Estoy ansioso de que falles.
I am anxious that you will fail.
As you can see, everything after “emotional/personal feeling + que” is in the subjunctive.
Desire
| esperar | to hope |
| exigir | to demand |
| insistir en | to insist (on) |
| ojalá | I strongly hope/if God wills it |
| pedir (e > i) | to request |
| preferir (e > ie) | to prefer |
| querer (e > ie) | to want |
| rogar (o > ue) | to pray, beg |
| sugerir (e > ie) | to suggest |
Whenever the verbs in the main clause express a desire, you will use the subjunctive in the subordinate clause.
Have a look at some examples:
hablar
Aquí preferimos que hables en español.
We prefer that you speak Spanish here.
salir
Exigen que salgamos de su casa.
They demand that we leave their house.
With verbs of desire, the personal “a” will not be used when the person may not actually exist.
ser
Quiero un marido que me sea fiel.
I want a husband who is loyal to me.
Currently, you do not have a husband.
This husband that you are talking about may not actually exist.
Ignorance
| dudar que | to doubt that |
| no creer que | to not believe that |
| no estar convencido/convencida de que | to not be convinced that |
| no estar seguro/segura de que | to not be sure 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 |
| temer que | to suspect/fear that |
Whenever the verbs in the main clause express ignorance or doubt, you will use the subjunctive in the subordinate clause
Have a look at some examples:
tocar
Dudo que Carlos toque la guitarra.
I doubt that Carlos plays the guitar.
tener
No creo que tenga las respuestas a este examen.
I don’t believe that he has the answers to this exam.
You may have noticed that a lot of these verbs are in the negative form. You can recognize them by the fact that they begin with a “no“.
The interesting thing is that if you use them in the affirmative (without the “no”), then you will use indicative mood rather than the subjunctive mood.
ser
Estoy seguro de que es nuestro maestro.
I am sure that he is our teacher.
ser
No estoy seguro de que sea nuestro maestro.
I am not sure that he is our teacher.
Uncompleted Action
| a menos que | unless |
| antes (de) que | before |
| con tal (de) que | provided that |
| cuando | when |
| después (de) que | after |
| en caso de que | in case |
| hasta que | until |
| mientras que | while |
| para que | in order that/so that |
| sin que | without |
| tan pronto como | as soon as |
Whenever an action in the subordinate clause is indefinite or pending, the verb in the subordinate clause will be in the subjunctive. Take a look at this sentence.
“I will sleep when my daughter is back home.” You may believe that your daughter will return, however until she is home you do not know this for certain.
Have a look at some examples:
llegar
Comeré tan pronto como llegue.
I will eat as soon as he arrives.
llamar
Estudiaré hasta que mi madre me llame.
I will study until my mom calls me.
Maybe and Perhaps
| acaso | maybe/perhaps |
| quizá(s) | maybe/perhaps |
| tal vez | maybe/perhaps |
Whenever a clause is introduced by “maybe” or “perhaps” you will use the subjunctive.
This is because these words introduce a level of uncertainty.
Acaso is more found in writing, whereas quizá(s) and tal vez are more used in speaking.
Have a look at some examples:
estar
Tal vez esté en casa.
Maybe he is at home.
vivir
Quizás viva en Italia.
Perhaps he lives in Italy.
Even if
| aunque | even if/even though/although |
Whenever an action has not yet happened or is not known to happen, aunque introduces the subjunctive.
Have a look at some examples:
pasar
Aunque Carlos no pase la prueba, lo ascenderé.
Even if Carlos fails the test, I will promote him.
As you can see it is in the subjunctive mood.
Should the action be happening or have already finished then you will use the indicative mood.
saber
Promoveré a Carlos aunque sé que está fallando en la prueba.
I will promote Carlos even though I know he is failing the test.
Example Sentences on When To Use The Spanish Subjunctive
This section of the lesson on when to use the Spanish subjunctive is about seeing the mood in action.
This is valuable because you can improve your understanding of when to use the Spanish subjunctive through examples.
estar
Estoy encantado de que estés aquí.
I am delighted that you are here.
fallar
Estoy ansioso de que falles.
I am anxious that you will fail.
hablar
Aquí preferimos que hables en español.
We prefer that you speak Spanish here.
salir
Exigen que salgamos de su casa.
They demand that we leave their house.
ser
Quiero un marido que me sea fiel.
I want a husband who is loyal to me.
tocar
Dudo que Carlos toque la guitarra.
I doubt that Carlos plays the guitar.
tener
No creo que tenga las respuestas a este examen.
I don’t believe that he has the answers to this exam.
ser
Estoy seguro de que es nuestro maestro.
I am sure that he is our teacher.
ser
No estoy seguro de que sea nuestro maestro.
I am not sure that he is our teacher.
llegar
Comeré tan pronto como llegue.
I will eat as soon as he arrives.
llamar
Estudiaré hasta que mi madre me llame.
I will study until my mom calls me.
estar
Tal vez esté en casa.
Maybe he is at home.
vivir
Quizás viva en Italia.
Perhaps he lives in Italy.
pasar
Aunque Carlos no pase la prueba, lo ascenderé.
Even if Carlos fails the test, I will promote him.
saber
Promoveré a Carlos aunque sé que está fallando en la prueba.
I will promote Carlos even though I know he is failing the test.
Quiz Yourself on When To Use The Spanish Subjunctive
At the end of every lesson you can do a small quiz.
You will see the sentences of the previous chapter.
You will either need to fill in the blanks, choose the correct multiple choice option, or both.
Once you are done the correct answer will be shown.
You can redo the quiz as many times as you want!
How to Practice With Flashcards for This Lesson
Using flashcards is an absolute necessity when it comes to learning a language!
It is the best way to memorize what you learn, you can personalize your progression because it adapts to your actions, and all flashcards have audio to improve your hearing and pronunciation.
Please read our article on how to learn a new language for more information on flashcards and the best way to learn a new language.
There are two ways to practice with Flashcards for this lesson.
- Anki
- The Flashcards in our Courses
Anki is a free software with which you can create and practice flashcards.
After you have downloaded Anki for free, you can get our Spanish B1 Anki Deck.
This Anki Deck contains 2,052 flashcards with which you can practice absolutely everything for Spanish B1.
All the flashcards have text, images, explanations, and audio.
You can also use our courses that have flashcards integrated alongside lessons with audio, quizzes and much more!
However, I am sure you are wondering, what are your courses, and why should I take them?
The Courses of Language Atlas
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