Spanish Present Subjunctive

Introduction

The Spanish present subjunctive (el presente de subjuntivo) is used to talk about situations of doubt, desire, emotion, necessity, or uncertainty.

Unlike the present indicative, the present subjunctive is generally subjective.

For specifics on when to use the subjunctive instead of the indicative, see our notes on subjunctive vs indicative.

Conjugating Verbs in the Present Subjunctive

Overview

To conjugate a verb in the present subjunctive, you must first remember what the present indicative yo form of the verb in question is.

This is because the stem of present subjunctive verbs comes from the yo form of the present indicative.

For many verbs, this will be the same as the infinitive stem, but for many others, such as verbs with spelling changes, stem-changing verbs, and irregular verbs, it will be different.

Present Subjunctive Stem Formula

The formula for finding the present subjunctive stem of a verb is the following:

  • present subjunctive stem = yo form of present indicative minus o ending

Here are a few examples of present subjunctive stems.

Infinitive Yo Present Indicative Form Present Subjunctive Stem
caber quepo quep-
caer caigo caig-
conocer conozco conozc-
hacer hago hag-
lucir luzco luzc-
parecer parezco parezc-
poner pongo pong-
querer quiero quier-
tener tengo teng-
traer traigo traig-
valer valgo valg-
ver veo ve-

Regular Present Subjunctive Endings

Once you have the stem, you will add the present subjunctive ending that matches your subject.

There are only two ending sets for the present subjunctive: one for -ar verbs and one for both -er and -ir verbs.

Subject -ar Verb Endings -er and -ir Verb Endings
yo e a
es as
usted, él, ella e a
nosotros emos amos
vosotros éis áis
ustedes, ellos, ellas en an

In the table below are full present subjunctive conjugations for hablar, tener, and vivir:

Subject Hablar Tener Vivir
yo hable tenga viva
hables tengas vivas
usted, él, ella hable tenga viva
nosotros hablemos tengamos vivamos
vosotros habléis tengáis viváis
ustedes, ellos, ellas hablen tengan vivan

Irregular Present Subjunctive Verbs

There are only six truly irregular verbs in the subjunctive. You'll find the conjugations for each of these verbs in the tables below.

Present Subjunctive Conjugations of Dar, Estar, and Ser

Subject Dar Estar Ser
yo esté sea
des estés seas
usted, él, ella esté sea
nosotros demos estemos seamos
vosotros deis estéis seáis
ustedes, ellos, ellas den estén sean

Present Subjunctive Conjugations of Haber, Ir, and Saber

Subject Haber Ir Saber
yo haya vaya sepa
hayas vayas sepas
usted, él, ella haya vaya sepa
nosotros hayamos vayamos sepamos
vosotros hayáis vayáis sepáis
ustedes, ellos, ellas hayan vayan sepan

Stem Changes in the Present Subjunctive

1. e > ie and o > ue Stem Changes with -ar and -er Verbs

For verbs in this group, the e in the last syllable of the stem (the yo form of the present indicative) changes to ie, or the o in the last syllable of the stem (the yo form of the present indicative) changes to ue.

All subjunctive forms follow the stem change except for nosotros and vosotros, which use the infinitive stem.

Present Subjunctive Conjugation Table for Querer:

quiera queramos
quieras queráis
quiera quieran

2. e > ie and o > ue Stem Changes with -ir Verbs

All e > ie and o > ue stem-changing -ir verbs follow the same changes as in the present indicative, except the nosotros and vosotros, forms, in which the e changes to i and the o changes to u.

Present Subjunctive Conjugation Table for Sentir:

sienta sintamos
sientas sintáis
sienta sientan

Present Subjunctive Conjugation Table for Dormir:

duerma durmamos
duermas durmáis
duerma duerman

3. e > i Stem Changes with -ir Verbs

All e > i stem-changing -ir verbs in the present indicative maintain the stem change in all forms of the present subjunctive.

Present Subjunctive Conjugation Table for Pedir:

pida pidamos
pidas pidáis
pida pidan

Spelling Changes

Overview

Some verbs in the present subjunctive undergo spelling changes.

This often occurs for reasons of pronunciation, and these changes often match those of verbs with spelling changes in the preterite. Let's take a look at some of these verbs.

1. -ger and -gir Verbs

Verbs ending in -ger and -gir have a j instead of a g in the subjunctive.

The base form for these verbs is the first person form of the present tense, which undergoes a spelling change.

Present Subjunctive Conjugation Table for Escoger:

escoja escojamos
escojas escojáis
escoja escojan

2. -car, -gar, and -zar Verbs

Verbs ending in -car, -gar, and -zar undergo a change in the final consonant before -ar.

hese consonants change to qu, gu, and c, respectively.

Some of these verbs, such as empezar, also under go stem changes.

Present Subjunctive Conjugation Table for Sacar:

saque saquemos
saques saquéis
saque saquen

Present Subjunctive Conjugation Table for Llegar:

llegue lleguemos
llegues lleguéis
llegue lleguen

Present Subjunctive Conjugation Table for Empezar:

empiece empecemos
empieces empecéis
empiece empiecen