Notes
Forms
- Take the yo form, drop -o, add opposite endings: -ar → -e, -es, -e, -emos, -en; -er/-ir → -a, -as, -a, -amos, -an.
- Irregular yo forms carry over (tenga, haga, salga, conozca). Spelling changes: busque, llegue, empiece.
- Stem changers keep their changes except nosotros of -ar/-er verbs; -ir verbs also change in nosotros (durmamos, pidamos).
- Irregular: dar (dé), estar (esté), ir (vaya), haber (haya), saber (sepa), ser (sea).
When to use it (WEIRDO)
- Wishes, Emotions, Impersonal expressions, Recommendations, Doubt, Ojalá.
- Pattern: main clause + que + subjunctive, with two different subjects: Quiero que vengas.
- One subject means an infinitive: Quiero venir. / Me alegro de verte.
Useful triggers
- Wishes and requests: querer, preferir, esperar, pedir, aconsejar, recomendar, prohibir, permitir, insistir en.
- Emotions: me alegro de que, siento que, temo que, me sorprende que, es una lástima que.
- Ojalá (que) always takes the subjunctive.
Topics in this unit
Each topic has its own short notes and practice.
Practice
Salgo → salga → salgamos. Querer que with two subjects takes the subjunctive.
Ir has the irregular subjunctive vaya, vayas, vaya, vayamos, vayan. Ustedes needs vayan.
With one subject, use the infinitive after querer.
Emotion triggers the subjunctive; saber is irregular: sepa.
Conduzco → conduzca. Prohibir is a request trigger and the subject of the que-clause is Carla.
Me preocupa que no tengamos tiempo expresses worry.
Free response
Write your answer first, then open the scoring guide.
Free-response question
Lee: "Querida Rosa: Espero que estés bien. Mis padres quieren que yo visite a mis abuelos este verano. Me alegro de que ellos vivan cerca del mar. Ojalá que haga buen tiempo."
(a) Name two triggers of the subjunctive in the passage and say which WEIRDO category each belongs to.
Show the answer and scoring guide
Espero que is a wish (hope), and me alegro de que is an emotion. Other correct answers: quieren que (wish/influence) and ojalá que (hope).
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(b) Explain why "visite" is in the subjunctive and not the indicative.
Show the answer and scoring guide
The main clause (mis padres quieren) expresses a wish, and the two clauses have different subjects (padres and yo), joined by que.
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(c) Write one Spanish sentence using an emotion expression plus the subjunctive, and one sentence using an infinitive because there is only one subject.
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Example: Me sorprende que mi hermano llegue tarde. / Quiero viajar a México.
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