AP Spanish Study Sheet: El Subjuntivo vs. El Indicativo

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1 Page 1 of 7 Figure It Out! Arturo compra verduras en el mercado. Félix usa ropa de los años 50. Yo sé que puedo hacerlo. Sabemos que están en el banco. No quiero que Arturo compre verduras. No podemos impedir que Félix use ropa de los años 50. Ella duda que yo pueda hacerlo. No estamos seguros de que estén en el banco. Compare the words with a single underline in the left-hand column with those that are double-underlined in the right-hand column. Why does the form of the verb change? Introduction The question of when to use the subjunctive mood and when to use the indicative can be a tricky one for English speakers. First of all, we have to understand what mood is "grammatically speaking." It is about a way to express the factual or non-factual status of what we say. Put very simply, Spanish uses one set of verb forms (the indicative mood) to express straightforward declarations of fact and another set of verb forms (subjunctive mood) to express things that are potential, hoped-for, or contrary to fact. Well, it's not really quite that simple to cover the present subjunctive, so let s get started! In this activity you'll learn the forms of present subjunctive verbs, where they typically occur in sentences, and some of the most common uses. Subordinate Clauses Most subjunctive verbs occur in what is called a subordinate clause. You can think of a subordinate clause as a sentence embedded inside another sentence. In other words, it doesn't express the main idea of the sentence but provides some information that is supplementary. Subordinate clauses can fill different roles in a sentence, such as subject (noun clause) direct object (noun clause) object of a preposition (noun clause) adjectival modifiers (adjective clause) adverbial modifiers (adverb clause) Noun and adjective clauses are usually marked by que, while adverbial clauses are marked by conjunctions such as cuando and donde. Here are a few examples in which the subordinate clause performs different functions in the sentence. These examples use verbs in the indicative mood, the subordinate clauses are underlined and their markers (relative pronouns or other subordinating words) appear with a double underline. Subject: Es cierto que el almacén "Don Manolo" vende todo bien barato. Even though the subordinate clause comes last, it's still the subject of the sentence. It's the thing that "is certain".

2 Page 2 of 7 Direct Object: Mi mamá dice que no vamos a llegar a tiempo. Object of a Preposition: Pepita esperó en la esquina hasta que llegó Fernando. Adjective: El hombre que ustedes vieron ayer va a venir mañana. Adverb: Cerramos la tienda cuando salimos de vacaciones. Note that in each case, the subordinate clause could work as a sentence by itself, but it is being "subordinated," or made to perform a subordinate role, in a larger sentence. Present Subjunctive Verb Forms The present subjunctive verb forms are fairly simple and easy to memorize, and there are not very many true irregulars, though verbs that have stem changes and spelling changes in the present indicative also have them in the present subjunctive. Here are the endings: PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE ENDINGS, -AR VERBS 1 st person -e -emos 2 nd person -es -éis 3 rd person -e -en PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE ENDINGS, -ER AND IR VERBS 1 st person -a -amos 2 nd person -as -áis 3 rd person -a -an You probably noticed right away that the endings are basically "backwards" from those of the "normal" present tense verbs, meaning those in the indicative mood. In other words, -ar verbs take the "normal" endings of the er and ir verbs, except that the first person singular (yo form) uses e instead of o. In the same way, the er and ir verbs take the usual present tense endings of the ar verbs, except that, again, in first person singular the o is replaced by a. Stems. For most regular and irregular verbs, these endings are added to the stem that you get when you remove the o from first person singular (yo) form of the verb in the present indicative tense. So, for example, for the verb salir the stem is salg-, because that's what you get when you remove the o from salgo (first person singular present tense of salir) The full conjugated forms of salir in the present subjunctive would then be as follows: PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE CONJUGATIONS OF THE VERB SALIR 1 st person salga salgamos 2 nd person salgas salgáis 3 rd person salga salgan

3 Page 3 of 7 For stem-changing verbs, the vowel changes occur in the same place that they do in the present indicative verbs. For example, in the verb poder, the o changes to ue for all of the person-number combinations except for first person plural (nosotros) and second-person plural (vosotros). This applies to both the indicative and subjunctive verbs. Carefully study the present indicative and present subjunctive conjugations of poder side-by-side below. PRESENT INDICATIVE OF PODER 1 st person puedo podemos 2 nd person puedes podéis 3 rd person puede pueden PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE OF PODER 1 st person pueda podamos 2 nd person puedas podáis 3 rd person pueda puedan This same principle applies to all verbs whose stem changes from o to ue and to many whose stem changes from i to ie. Irregular Verbs in the Present Subjunctive The following six verbs are completely irregular in the present subjunctive. All six forms of each verb are shown: PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE OF DAR 1 st person dé demos 2 nd person des deis 3 rd person dé den PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE OF ESTAR 1 st person esté estemos 2 nd person estés estéis 3 rd person esté estén PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE OF HABER 1 st person haya hayamos 2 nd person hayas hayáis 3 rd person haya hayan PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE OF IR 1 st person vaya vayamos 2 nd person vayas vayáis 3 rd person vaya vayan PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE OF SABER 1 st person sepa sepamos 2 nd person sepas sepáis 3 rd person sepa sepan PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE OF SER 1 st person sea seamos 2 nd person seas seáis 3 rd person sea sean

4 Page 4 of 7 Some Common Uses of the Present Subjunctive With the information given above you can form the present subjunctive verbs correctly in most cases. However, you're still lacking the most important bit of information: when to use them! Two common uses are in expressions of volition or influence, and in expressions of doubt. In both of these cases the subjunctive verb is usually in a clause that acts as the object of a verb.

5 Page 5 of 7 Expressions of Volition Examine the following sentences side-by-side: Enrique va a la iglesia. Yo hago la tarea todos los días. Tú viajas a San Marcos con frecuencia. Nosotros ganamos todos los partidos. No quiero que Enrique vaya a la iglesia. Tú me pides que haga la tarea. Las circunstancias impiden que viajes. Uds. no pueden evitar que ganemos. The sentences on the left are simple sentences with only one clause. In the sentences on the right, the same verb has been embedded in a subordinate clause following a verb of volition or influence. As a result, the subjunctive form is required. Remember! It's the verb in the main clause (such as querer, pedir, impedir, or evitar in the examples above) that determines whether the subordinate verb will be subjunctive or not. The subordinate verbs themselves do not determine this. When you learn lists of verbs that govern the subjunctive, remember that they are the ones that cause other verbs to "go subjunctive," not that they have to be subjunctive themselves. The following table shows some of the more common verbs of volition or influence that, when followed by que, will usually require the subjunctive in the following clause: SOME COMMON VERBS OF VOLITION THAT GOVERN SUBJUNCTIVE causar hacer obligar a conseguir impedir oponerse a decir impulsar pedir desear insistir preferir esforzarse por lograr querer evitar mandar requerir exigir necesitar suplicar

6 Page 6 of 7 Use of the Infinitive instead of the Subjunctive There are two main situations where you can or should use an infinitive instead of a subjunctive verb after a verb of volition, such as those shown above. Same Subject in Both Clauses. If the subject of the main clause is the same as that of the subordinate clause, then use an infinitive instead of que plus a subjunctive. For example, instead of the following UNGRAMMATICAL sentences: *Yo quiero que yo duerma. *Voy a lograr que yo termine el proyecto mañana. You would say simply: Yo quiero dormir. Voy a lograr terminar el proyecto mañana. Verbs That Can Take an Indirect Object. Many verbs of influence that can take an indirect object give you the option of using a subjunctive verb or an infinitive in the subordinate clause. Here are a few examples: Subjunctive Version Déjame que salga. Let me leave. Les invitamos a que entren. We invite you to enter. Nos obligan a que hablemos. They make us speak. Infinitive Version Déjame salir. Let me leave. Les invitamos a entrar. We invite you to enter. Nos obligan a hablar. They make us speak. Use of the Subjunctive with Expressions of Doubt or Negation When a subordinate clause is the object of a verb expressing doubt or negation, the verb in the subordinate clause is subjunctive. Here are a few examples: Dudo que ese hombre pueda tocar el piano. No creo que vengan hoy. Niego rotundamente que lo haya hecho. I doubt that that man can play the piano. I don't think they'll come today. I emphatically deny that he did it. But, if a "denial" verb is in turn negated to create a clearly affirmative statement, the subordinate clause is then in the indicative: No dudamos que es cierto lo que dice. We don't doubt that what he says is true.

7 Page 7 of 7 Summary Some basic facts about the use of present subjunctive verbs: They appear most of the time in subordinate clauses, meaning clauses that are embedded within another sentence. Most of them are formed from the stem of the verb as conjugated in the first person, singular (yo) form of the present indicative. o For ar verbs, add the endings that you would normally see on er and ir verbs in the present indicative, except for the first person singular, which o takes the e ending. For er and -ir verbs, add the endings that you would normally see on ar verbs in the present indicative, except for the first person singular, which takes the a ending. Verbs that are stem-changing in the present indicative generally keep the same stem changes in the subjunctive. There are six highly irregular verbs in the present subjunctive that you must memorize. Present subjunctive verbs are used in clauses that are the object of verbs expressing influence or volition, or doubt.