How to Form the Present Subjunctive

How to Form the Present Subjunctive

You can conjugate any verb in the Spanish language provided you know the infinitive, the yo-form for the present indicative the information given here.

Start with the first person singular (yo-form) of the present indicative.

1. If this form does not end in an -o, the verb is irregular in the present subjunctive; memorize the forms.

Yo-form, Infin- Present subjunctive forms

pres. ind. itive yo tú Ud./él/ella nosotros vosotros Uds./ellos/ellas
soy ser: sea seas sea seamos seáis sean
estoy estar: esté estés esté estemos estéis estén
voy ir: vaya vayas vaya vayamos vayáis vayan
doy dar: dé des dé demos deis den
sé saber: sepa sepas sepa sepamos sepáis sepan

Note: the endings for the present subjunctive for all other verbs are:

Endings for -ar verbs: -e, -es, -e, -emos, -eis, -en
Endings for -er and -ir verbs: -a, -as, -a, -amos, -áis, -an

(These endings are or the most part the “opposite” conjugation endings of the present indicative.)

2. If the stem of the yo-form is exactly the same as the stem of the infinitive, the verb is regular; use this stem and attach the appropriate endings.

Yo-form, Infin- Present subjunctive forms

pres. ind. itive yo tú Ud./él/ella nosotros vosotros Uds./ellos/ellas
hablo hablar: hable hables hable hablemos habléis hablen
como comer: coma comas coma comamos comáis coman
vivo vivir: viva vivas viva vivamos viváis vivan

3. If the stem of the yo-form shows a stem change when compared to the stem of the infinitive (e > ie, o > ue, or u > ue) and it's an -ar or -er verb, the stem will undergo the same changes as in the present indicative (in all forms except for nosotros and vosotros); substitute the subjunctive endings for the indicative ones:

Yo-form, Infin- Present subjunctive forms

pres. ind. itive yo tú Ud./él/ella nosotros vosotros Uds./ellos/ellas
vuelvo volver: vuelva vuelvas vuelva volvamos volváis vuelvan

4. If the stem of yo-form, when compared to that of the infinitive, shows that an -ir stem-changing verb is involved, all forms of the present subjunctive will have stem changes: the same ones as in the present indicative (e > ie, o > ue, and e > i), plus special changes in the nosotros and vosotros forms (e > i, o > u):

Yo-form, Infin- Present subjunctive forms

pres. ind. itive yo tú Ud./él/ella nosotros vosotros Uds./ellos/ellas
siento sentir: sienta sientas sienta sintamos sintáis sientan
duermo dormir: duerma duermas duerma durmamos durmáis duerman
pido pedir: pida pidas pida pidamos pidáis pidan

5. We are left with a yo form stem which is NOT the same as the one for the infinitive and which is NOT a stem-changing verb: use this stem for all forms of the present subjunctive:

Yo-form, Infin- Present subjunctive forms

pres. ind. itive yo tú Ud./él/ella nosotros vosotros Uds./ellos/ellas
conozco conocer: conozca conozcas conozca conozcamos conozcáis conozcan
tengo tener: tenga tengas tenga tengamos tengáis tengan

Some of the verbs in this category: caer (caigo), conocer (conozco), decir (digo), hacer (hago), poner (pongo), salir (salgo), seguir (sigo), valer, (valgo), venir (vengo). Remember that compounds based on these verbs also have special yo-forms, e.g., reconocer, deshacer, proponer, conseguir, etc.

6. Remember that spelling (or orthographic) changes take place in the subjunctive forms of some verbs to maintain the pronunciation of the consonant sound preceding the infinitive:

Infinitive ending Subj. ending Examples

-car
> -que
buscar > busque
-gar
> -gue
pagar > pague
-zar
> -ce
empezar > empiece
-cer or -cir
> -za
ejercer > ejerza
-ger or -gir
> -ja
coger > coja

Yo-form, Infin- Present subjunctive forms

pres. ind. itive yo tú Ud./él/ella nosotros vosotros Uds./ellos/ellas
busco buscar: busque busques busque busquemos busquéis busquen
pago pagar: pague pagues pague paguemos paguéis paguen
empiezo empezar: empiece empieces empiece empecemos empecéis empiecen
ejerzo ejercer: ejerza ejerzas ejerza ejerzamos ejerzáis ejerzan
cojo coger: coja cojas coja cojamos cojáis cojan