Notes
Forming the imperfect subjunctive
- Take the ellos preterite, drop -ron, add -ra, -ras, -ra, -ramos, -ran: hablaron → hablara; tuvieron → tuviera; fueron → fuera; dijeron → dijera.
- Nosotros has a written accent: habláramos, tuviéramos, fuéramos.
Uses
- Same triggers as the present subjunctive, but the main verb is in the past or conditional: Quería que vinieras. Era importante que estudiaras. Me gustaría que vinieras.
- Also used after como si and ojalá for unreal situations: Habla como si fuera experto. Ojalá tuviera tiempo.
Si clauses
| Type | If-clause | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Real or likely | si + present indicative | future, present or command |
| Hypothetical | si + imperfect subjunctive | conditional |
- Si estudias, aprobarás. / Si estudiaras, aprobarías.
- The conditional uses the whole infinitive + -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -ían; irregular stems: tendr-, podr-, har-, dir-, saldr-, vendr-, pondr-, sabr-, querr-, habr-.
- Never use the conditional or the present subjunctive directly after si.
Topics in this unit
Each topic has its own short notes and practice.
Practice
Esperaba is past, so the imperfect subjunctive is used. Hacer → hicieron → hiciéramos.
A hypothetical if-clause uses the imperfect subjunctive.
A likely situation uses si + present indicative with the future.
The if-clause is hypothetical (fueras), so the result is conditional: harías.
Decir → dijeron → drop -ron → dije- + ran = dijeran.
The imperfect subjunctive and conditional show an imaginary situation.
Free response
Write your answer first, then open the scoring guide.
Free-response question
Lee: "Si yo fuera el director de mi escuela, cambiaría varias cosas. Mi profesora quería que nosotros escribiéramos un ensayo sobre eso. Si los estudiantes participan, la escuela mejorará."
(a) Explain the verb forms in "Si yo fuera el director... cambiaría".
Show the answer and scoring guide
Fuera is the imperfect subjunctive of ser and cambiaría is the conditional. Together they express a hypothetical situation: the speaker is not the director.
Check off the points you earned:
(b) Why is "escribiéramos" in the imperfect subjunctive?
Show the answer and scoring guide
It follows "quería que," a wish (influence) in the past, with different subjects (profesora and nosotros).
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(c) Explain why "Si los estudiantes participan, la escuela mejorará" uses different forms from the first sentence, and write a similar sentence about your own school.
Show the answer and scoring guide
It is a real or likely situation, so it uses si + present indicative with the future. Example: Si hacemos más deportes, estaremos más sanos.
Check off the points you earned: