The Present Subjunctive - Typepad



“How you feel and where you are, always use the verb ESTAR”AND“Put ESTAR in its PLACE and everything else is SER!”POSITION * LOCATION* ACTION * CONDITION*EMOTIONThe Present SubjunctiveThe Subjunctive is not a tense but a mood. What does that mean? It is called a mood because it doesn't deal with factual reality but with opinions, feelings, suppositions, dreams and speculation. We use the Subjunctive to mentally and emotionally organize our world in terms of others.We use the Indicative tense (Present, Preterite, Imperfect...) to express what occurs in the present or past reality.Some people say there is no Subjunctive in English but this isn't true. It is less apparent and less conscious than in Spanish. The Subjunctive form in English is identical to the infinitive, we can only see the Subjunctive in irregular verbs or in the third-person singular form (He, She, It.)For instance, if your mother has a cold, the doctor might recommend that she drink 4 glasses of water a day. Normally, the conjugation is "She drinks"; but the Subjunctive form drops the "s". Another example is that the State requires that you be 21 years old to purchase alcohol. Or even, "If I were King, I would eat Ben & Jerry's ice cream daily." These are all examples of the Subjunctive Mood in English.In Spanish there are defined conjugations for the Subjunctive that are used frequently in everyday conversations. In Spanish, the Subjunctive represents the things we imagine others doing (or not doing) or how we feel about events that have happened to others. It encompasses things that are rhetorical in our minds or emotional in our hearts. There is a 3 part formula for using the Subjunctive. Each one of these three components MUST be in place. 123Subject #1 (indicative verb)(Select one of the WEIRDO or WEDDING categories)QueThis is the conjunction necessary to introduce the subjunctive clauseSubject #2 + verb in the subjunctive(the person or thing in our WEIRDO or WEDDING world)WEDDINGWISH/WANTEMOTIONDOUBTDENIALIMPERSONALNEGATIONGODquererdesearpedirordenaraconsejarrogaransiarmandarnecesitarprohibirpermitirrecomendarinsistir ensugerirobligarpreferirdecir*escribir*?(*=mandato)esperaralegrarsesorprenderselamentartemersentirsemolestarenojarseenfadarseestar contentodudarno estar seguronegares importantees necesarioes precisoes esenciales lástimaes posiblees imposiblees fáciles difíciles mejores dudosoes increíblees probablees indispensable es menester conviene parece mentira más vale no parece importa bastano creerno pensar> Ojalá > Que...When you know the subjunctive, it’s a “piece of cake”The Conditional, Conditional Perfect, and “If” ClausesThe conditional Forms of the conditional. ?To form the conditional, use: The same stem as for the future tense (normally, the infinitive; a list of irregular verbs is given below). The same endings as for the imperfect of -er and -ir verbs: -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían. hablar comer vivirhablaría hablaríamos comería comeríamos viviría viviríamoshablarías hablaríais comerías comeríais vivirías viviríaishablaría hablarían comeríacomerían viviría viviríanVerbs with irregular future and conditional stems: decir??to say??dir-??diría, dirías, diría,?...haber there to be [impersonal];to have [helping verb]habr-habría, habrías, habría,?...hacer to make, dohar-haría, harías, haría,?...poder to be ablepodr-podría, podrías, podría,?...poner to put, place, setpondr-pondría,?pondrías,?pondría,?...querer to want, lovequerr-querría, querrías, querría,?...saber to know [a fact]sabr-sabría, sabrías, sabría,?...salir to leave, go outsaldr-saldría, saldrías, saldría,?...tener to havetendr-tendría, tendrías, tendría,?...valer to be worthvaldr-valdría, valdrías, valdría,?...venir to comevendr-vendría, vendrías, vendría,?...Usage. There are several ways in which the conditional is used in Spanish: To indicate future time within the past. (Remember that the conditional is a combination of future stem with imperfect endings.) Dije ayer que lo haríamos hoy.??Yesterday I said that we would [were going to] do it today.The same idea could also be expressed with the imperfect of ir plus a plus the infinitive: Dije ayer que lo íbamos a hacer hoy.??Yesterday I said that we were going to do it today.To indicate conjecture or probability in past time (roughly an equivalent of probablemente plus the imperfect). ?Dónde estaría María anoche?Where do you think Mary was last night?Estaría en casa.She was probably at home.To indicate deference or softening of a statement or request. Compare these three examples: Quiero cinco dólares.??I want $5.00.???[forceful, present tense]Querría cinco dólares.I would like $5.00.[deferential, conditional]Quisiera cinco dólares. I would like $5.00.[almost apologetic, imperfect subj.]NOTE: The past subjunctive was used in the third example above to indicate deference, politeness, or an almost apologetic tone. This usage is found primarily with the verbs querer, deber, and poder: ?Pudieras hacerlo??Could you (possibly) do it?Debieras estudiar más.(Maybe) you should study more.To indicate something hypothetical (in present or future time). ?Yo viajaría a la luna ma?ana (si pudiera)!I would go to the moon tomorrow (if I could)!This type of situation will be studied below in the section on contrary-to-fact or unreal conditions. The conditional perfect Forms. ?The conditional perfect is formed by using the conditional forms of the helping verb haber with the past (or passive) participle: yo ??habría??hablado/comido/vividotú habríashablado/comido/vividoél/ella/usted habríahablado/comido/vividonosotros/nosotras habríamoshablado/comido/vividovosotros/vosotras habríaishablado/comido/vividoellos/ellas/ustedes habríanhablado/comido/vivido(I would have spoken/eaten/lived) Usage. ?It is used primarily to indicate something hypothetical or unreal in past time, in a context where the subjunctive is not required such as in the main clause of a sentence: Sí, yo habría ido a la luna. ?Yes, I would have gone to the moon [but they didn't ask me].Real vs. unreal conditions A real condition is one which may actually come about or at least is viewed as a possibility; thus, in Spanish, the indicative is normally used both in the “if”clause and in the main part of the sentence: Si ella viene ma?ana, iremos al cine.If she comes tomorrow [she may actually come], we will go to the movies.Si nieva mucho, podré esquiar.If it snows a lot [it may really snow], I can ski.Note that the English versions of the above conditions suggest the indicative by the lack of hypothesis-suggesting words such as “would”, and by not using the past tense to refer to a present-time situation. In contrast, an unreal or contrary-to-fact condition is one which will not come about or is viewed as being completely hypothetical. In this case, the “if” clause in normally in a past subjunctive tense, and the main verb is in a conditional tense. Present or future time situations. The imperfect subjunctive is used in the “if” clause, and the conditional in the main clause: Si yo fuera rico compraría un coche.If I were rich [I am not rich] I would buy a car.?Qué harías si fueras presidente?What would you do if you were president? [you aren't]Si Juana estuviera aquí, ?le dirías la verdad?If Juana were here [she isn't here], would you tell her the truth?Past time situations. Past perfect subjunctive in the “if” clause, conditional perfect in the main clause: Si la hubiera visto, habría dicho algo. If I had seen her [I didn't see her] I would have said something.Si hubieras venido, te habrías divertido mucho.If you had come [you didn't come] you would have had a great time.?Habrías ido a la fiesta si yo la hubiera planeado?Would you have gone to the party if I had planned it? [I didn't plan it]Reminders/tips The present subjunctive is NOT used after si (“if”)! In unreal conditions the standard pattern is a past subjunctive in the “if”clause and a conditional tense in the main clause: “if” clause main clause time aspectsi + imperfect subjunctiveconditionalpresent/future time actions (but expressed by the past tense in both English and Spanish)Si hablaras,te creerían.If you spoke,they would believe you.?si + past perfect subjunctiveconditional perfectpast time actions (expresed by previous-past time tenses both in English and Spanish)Si hubieras hablado,te habrían creído.If you had spoken,they would have believed you.There are frequent tip-offs in English sentences that the conditional/past subjunctive combination is required in the corresponding Spanish sentence. (Compare with the examples above): Use of the past tense (“spoke”) in the “if” clause to indicate a present/future situation. (“If you spoke [right now]...”). Use of the word “would” in the main clause to indicate conjecture for present/future time. (“...they would believe you [now or in the future]”). Use of “would have” to in either clause to indicate conjecture/hypothesis in past time. ? (“...they would have believed you”).THE PRETERITE V. THE IMPERFECTTrying to decide when to use the Preterite and when to use the Imperfect is one of the challenges of learning these two tenses. Review the uses of the Imperfect and the Preterite, make a chart for yourself listing the differences.The Imperfect past tense is used to describe a scene while the Preterite is used to list series of completed actions. It can be a little more subtle, especially with verbs that change meaning depending on the tense.You will use the ImperfectWhen you "set a scene" describing what your house or dog used to look like and what your family was like. Think of looking at a photograph and describing the people in it and what they were doing. Since the photograph is static, the people in it can't start doing something different. So you can only describe the scene you see.When you are describing what people were doing (in the process of doing) or used to do or when you describe what it was like when you arrived at the party last night.However, the stories that occur within these settings happen in the Preterite! (which we will look at after our example.)For example, let's set a scene: Eran las nueve de la noche. Era viernes. Hacía mal tiempo. Llovía. Todos estábamos en casa. Mamá y Papá miraban la televisión; yo leía una novela de StarTrek; mi hermana hablaba por teléfono con su novio en su cuarto. Esnupi (nuestro perro) dormía detrás del sillón en la sala. It was 9:00 at night. It was Friday. It was bad weather. It was raining. We were all at home. Mom and Dad were watching television; I was reading a StarTrek novel; my sister was talking on the phone with her boyfriend in her room. Esnupi (our dog) was sleeping behind the armchair in the living room. This has all been written in the Imperfect.But now let's get to the action: De repente, ?Entró un ladrón! Pasó por la escalera y caminó hasta la recámara de mis padres. Miró en el cuarto cuando oyó la voz de mi hermana. Se volvió y bajó las escaleras. Trató de huir de la casa, pero Esnupi se despertó y mordió la pierna del ladrón. Suddenly, a robber entered! He went upstairs and walked down to my parent's bedroom. He looked in the room but then he heard my sister's voice. He turned and went down the stairs. He tried to flee the house, but Esnupi woke up and bit the robber's leg.This is a series of actions in the Preterite which happened within the setting established by the Imperfect.The focus of the Preterite is on completed action(s). The Imperfect focuses on a state of being.Let's look at some examples:PRETERITE(Completed action)IMPERFECT(description, scene)Comí la ía la cena...I ate my dinner (and I finished it)I was eating my dinner...[when something happened] -or- I used to eat my dinner...Tuvo que devolver la camisaTenía que devolver la camisaShe had to -and did- return the shirt.She had to return the shirt (She was supposed to return it - but we don't know if she did or not.)Some verbs have different meanings in the Imperfect and Preterite forms:Preterite(completed action)Imperfect(description, scene)Conocerto have met someoneto have known someoneSaberto have found out somethingto have known somethingQuerertriedwantedNo Quererrefuseddidn't wantPodermanaged to (suceeded)was able to (capable of)No Poderfailed towasn't able to (not capable)Examples of how these verbs change in meaning:Preterite(completed action)Imperfect(description, scene)Quise hacerlo pero no pude.Quería ir a la playa cada fin de semana. Y por no trabajar los fines de semana, podía ir frecuentemente.I tried to do it but I failed (to do it)I wanted to go to the beach every weekend. And because I didn't work weekends, I was able to go frequently.La conocí el a?o pasado.Nos conocíamos por tres meses antes de casarnos.I met her last year.We knew each other for three months before marrying.THE FUTURE TENSEThere is only one set of endings in the future, regardless if the verb is an -Ar or -Ir or -Er. YoTú?l, ella, ustedNosotros*VosotrosEllos, ellas, Uds.éásáemoséisán* Note: all endings carry an accent mark EXCEPT for the Nosotros form. We make the Future Tense by adding one of the above endings to the Infinitive itself (the same as we do with the Conditional.)For example, let's look at Comer:Comeré a las ocho.I will eat at eight o'eremos en el restaurante Habana el viernes.We'll eat at Habana Restaurant on Friday.Pretty easy, huh? The irregulars in the Future tense follow the same pattern (and are the same verbs!) as the irregulars in the Conditional. Irregular rootYoTú?l, ella, ustedNosotrosVosotrosEllos, ellas, Uds.Decir: dir-dirédirásdirádiremosdiréisdiránTener: tendr-tendrétendrástendrátendremostendréistendránPoner: pondr-pondrépondráspondrápondremospondréispondránPoder: podr-podrépodráspodrápodremospodréispodránSalir: saldr-saldrésaldrássaldrásaldremossaldréissaldránHacer: Har-haréharásharáharemosharéisharánHaber: Habr-habréhabráshabráhabremoshabréishabránVenir: Vendr-vendrévendrásvendrávendremosvendréisvendránWe use the Future Tense to express "will do something":Viviré en California el próximo verano.I will live in California next summer.Irás ir a la playa cada día.You will go to the beach every day.Buscaremos conchas.We will look for seashells.We also use the Future to express Conjecture ("I wonder") and Probability:?Qué hora será?I wonder what time it is?Estarán casados Barbie y Ken?I wonder if Barbie and Ken are married?Note: the Future Tense does not reflect the meaning of "will" in terms of your "willingness" to do something.As you know, you can also use the Ir + a + Infinitive to express Future actions and events:Voy a tomar el sol en la playa el viernes.I'm going to sunbathe on the beach on Friday.or even the Present Tense can be used:Salgo a las cinco.I'm leaving at five o'clock.Indirect Object PronounsAn indirect object is usually a person receiving the direct object. The pronouns in Spanish are basically the same as the ones used for the direct objects, with the exception of the third person. It is important to remember that in Spanish, anytime that an indirect object is expressed, the pronoun must be present even if the indirect object is expressed in some other way (i.e., prepositional clause).?Singular Plural Me (me)Nos (us)Te (you)Os (you [all])Le/se (him/her/it)Les/se (them)As you see, we have one that can be used only for the singular (le), one used only for the plural (les), and yet another one (se) that can be used for both! Nevertheless, the 'se' form is used only when the direct object pronoun is also used for reasons that seem to be primarily aesthetic (such as the use of the 'n' with the indefinite article in English: "an apple" vs. "a apple"). Although you'll see the pesky 'se' everywhere in standard writing in Spanish (i.e., newspaper articles, literature, manuals, etc.), you should be aware that there are many uses of 'se', and that it's not always used as an indirect object pronoun. Just click here to see some other uses. First, let's see a few examples where we substitute the indirect object without using the direct object pronoun, and then we'll see how these two pronouns act together.??Spanish English With prepositional clause(Tú) Le das el libro a PedroYou give the book to PedroNo prepositional clause(Tú) Le das el libroYou give him the book [incorrect to express a prepositional clause].With prepositional clause?Yo te doy el libro [a ti: redundant/emphasis]I give the book to youNo prepositional clause?Yo te doy el libroI give you the book.?Note how in both languages we can use the prepositional clause to know who is receiving the book. The prepositional clause is mainly used for clarification or for emphasis. Generally, in Spanish the prepositional clause is used at the end, whereas in English it would be incorrect to use it sometimes, as in the second sentence. In that case, we can identify the indirect object by using the name: "You give Pedro the book."Using the Direct and Indirect Object Pronouns at the Same TimeWhen both pronouns are used, they will continue to be placed in front of the verb (linguists say that these pronouns become part of the verb). The order a declarative sentence will follow when both pronouns are present is: subject-indirect object pronoun-direct object pronoun-verb, or SIODOV for short. Remember that you might not see the subject expressed at the beginning of the sentence due to the fact that it is implied in the verb. However, a personal pronoun or name of the subject could be placed at the beginning of the sentence.Direct object Indirect object ?Spanish English (Yo) te doy el libro [a ti]I give the book to you(Yo) te lo doyI give it to you [I give you it](Nosotros) les damos el libro a las ni?asWe give the book to the girls(Nosotros) se lo damosWe give it to themThe Perfect Tenses Introduction. The perfect tenses [tiempos perfectos] are compound tenses [tiempos compuestos]; that is, they are made up of two parts, a helping verb [verbo auxiliar] and a past participle [participio pasado], for example: he hablado (I have spoken), habías hablado (you had spoken), habremos hablado (we will have spoken). There are three main perfect tenses in the indicative: present perfect, past perfect, and future perfect. They are “perfect” or “pefective”, as opposed to “imperfect” or “imperfective”, in the sense that they portray an action or state as completed and not in progress, from the point of view of present, past, or future time, respectively. The perfect tenses in Spanish are formed with: The helping verb haber, in the appropriate tense and mood, plus: The masculine singular form of the past participle. Past participles are normally formed by taking the infinitive, dropping off the last two letters, and adding -ado for -ar verbs, or -ido for -er and -ir verbs: HYPERLINK "" hablar > hablado (spoken), comer > comido (eaten), vivir > vivido (lived) Second- and third-conjugation verbs whose stems end in a vowel need a written accent mark: leer > leído; oír > oído. Some verbs with irregular past participles include: abrir ??abierto??openedcubrir cubiertoclosed, shutdecir dichosaid, tolddescribir descritodescribeddescubrir??descubierto??discovereddevolver devueltoreturned, given backescribir escritowrittenhacer hechodone, mademorir muertodied, deadponer puestoput, placed, setromper rotobroken, tornver vistoseenvolver vueltoreturnedNote: Compound words based on these roots typically show these same irregularities: componer > compuesto; deshacer > deshecho; oponer > opuesto; suponer > supuesto; prever > previsto. The present perfect tense [el perfecto or el presente perfecto]: To form the present perfect, use the present tense of haber plus the masculine singular form of the past participle: he hablado???I have spokenhas habladoyou have spokenha habladohe/she has spokenhemos hablado?we have spokenhabéis habladoyou have spokenhan habladothey have spokenYo digo que ella lo ha hecho.??I say that she has done it.Ya hemos visto la película.We've already seen the film.The present perfect may be used to indicate an action or state as having occurred —and having been completed— prior to the present time. It is used in almost exactly the same way as we use it in English, with two exceptions: The present perfect is NOT used to indicate an action still in progress. To express an ongoing action which began in the past, the present tense is used: Hace cuatro a?os que vivo aquí.?I have lived (have been living) here for four years.To express the idea “to have just (done something)”, Spanish typically employs the present of acabar de plus the infinitive, for example: Acabo de oír la noticia.?I just heard the news [item].Acabamos de poner el televisor.We have just turned on the TV.Note: acabar literally means to finish or to end.The past perfect tense [el pluscuamperfecto]: To form the past perfect, use the imperfect of haber plus the masculine singular form of the past participle: había hablado?I had spokenhabías habladoyou had spokenhabía habladohe/she had spokenhabíamos habladowe had spokenhabíais habladoyou had spokenhabían habladothey had spokenJuan dijo que había viajado a México.?John said that he had traveled to Mexico.A past-time situation is normally indicated by the preterit and imperfect, for example by dijo in the above example. The past perfect?tense (e.g., había viajado) views an action or state as having occurred —and been completed— at a time prior to another past action, state or time (e.g., dijo). It is used in almost exactly the same way as we use it in English, with the following exceptions: The past perfect is NOT used to indicate an action which began in previous past time and is still in progress in (simple) past time; the imperfect tense is used for this purpose: Hacía cuatro a?os que vivíamos aquí.?We had lived (had been living) here for four years.Trabajaban en el proyecto desde hacía seis horas.They had been working on the project for six hours.?Cuánto tiempo llevabas mirando la tele?How long had you been watching TV?To express the idea “to had just (done something)”, Spanish usually employs the imperfect of acabar de plus the infinitive, for example: Acababa de oír la noticia.?I had just heard the news [item].Acabábamos de poner el televisor.We had just turned on the TV [set].The future perfect tense [el futuro perfecto]: To form the future perfect, use the future of haber plus the masculine singular form of the past participle: habré hablado?I will have spokenhabrás habladoyou will have spokenhabrá habladohe/she will have spokenhabremos habladowe will have spokenhabréis habladoyou will have spokenhabrán habladothey will have spokenThis tense views an action or state as having occurred —and been completed— at some time in the future. It is used in almost exactly the same way as we use it in English, for example: Juan habrá salido para las ocho.?Juan will have left by eight o'clock.Todos habrán terminado la composición para ma?ana.Everyone will have finished their compositions by tomorrow.As you already know, the future tense can be used to indicate conjecture in present time (that is, to replace the present tense and an equivalent of “probably”): Ahora serán las tres.???Right now it is probably 3:00.Similarly, the future perfect tense can be used to indicate conjecture or probability in past time; specifically, it may be used to replace the preterit or present perfect tense and an equivalent of “probably”: ?Ese ruido? Habrá sido el gato.That noise? It must have been the cat.Marta ya habrá salido.???Martha (has) probably already left.Inevitably, this review is for you…include what you need (with respect to explanations)…Additionally, if you find an online source that could assist you…ADD IT. This review book is for YOUR benefit.To complete this review, include the following:Vocabulary ListsTransitional ExpressionsYour Acronym Handout (Weirdo or Wedding) for the Subjunctive Mood ................
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