FHUHS Spanish

Formation of the Present Subjunctive

There are three simple steps to forming the present subjunctive:

2007-03-05 – © Baldo Partners: Hector Cantú & Carlos Castellanos; Universal Press Syndicate

1. Start with the yo form of the present indicative. Eg.:

   hablo — como — vivo — tengo — oigo

   (this step is very important and in my experience, it’s the step most often forgotten by students)

2. Remove the ‘o’ of the form above:

   habl — com — viv — teng — oig

   (if the yo form of the verb doesn’t end in an ‘o’, then that verb is irregular in the present subjunctive and you will have to simply learn the irregular forms. See the forms of haber, for example, below

3. “Swap” the vowel class of the verb and conjugate appropriately. In other words, if the verb is an -ar verb, treat it as if it were an -er/-ir verb. Likewise, if it’s an -er or -ir verb, treat it as if it were an -ar verb, and generate the form you need:

The present perfect subjunctive

To form the present perfect subjuntive, use the subjunctive form of haber with the perfect participle. Haber is irregular in the present subjunctive.

Me pone triste que no hayas terminado.
Insisto en que hayas estudiado el español antes del examen.