TENSES

Formal Commands
The formal commands are formed the same way as the present subjunctive

Start with the yo form of the present indicative

Then drop the o ending
Finally add the following endings
-ar verbs:
-e (for Ud) en (for Uds)
-er and ir verbs
-a (for Ud.) an for (Uds)

Remember, if the first person singular (yo) form is irregular, that irregularity is
carried over into the formation of the formal command
In formal commands, affirmative and negative commands use the same verb forms
Hable Ud.

No hable Ud.

Informal Commands
For the familiar affirmative commands, you will simply use the 3rd person singular
form of the present indicative.
-AR verbs: Add the 3rd person singular ending -a to the stem

(Comprar) Compra la camisa. (Buy the shirt.)

-ER verbs: Add the 3rd person singular ending -e to the stem

(Aprender) Aprende espaol! (Learn Spanish!)

-IR verbs: Add the 3rd person singular ending -e to the stem

(Escribir) Escribe el ensayo! (Write the essay!)

Irregular:
Decir -di
Hacer -haz
Ir -ve
Poner -pon

Salir sal
Ser se(con accento)
Tener -ten
Venir -ven

Pronoun Placement

Pronoun placement: the pronoun is attached to the end of affirmative

commands and the verb carries a tilde to maintain its original stress.

Tremelo. (Bring it to me.)

Dgasela. (Tell it to her.)

Cmpraselo. (Buy it for him.)

Ponte los zapatos. (Put on your shoes.)

Negative Informal Commands

Negative informal commands (negative informal imperative forms) are very
different from affirmative informal commands. They are actually more similar to the formal
commands in that they use the t form of the present subjunctive of each verb.

No compres la camisa. (Do not buy the shirt.)

No aprendas espaol. (Do not learn Spanish!)

No escribas el ensayo! (Do not write the essay!)

Always make sure you have a no or another negative word in front of the verb. This is what
makes it negative.

There are no irregular negative informal commands. If a verb is irregular in the present
subjunctive, it maintains the same irregular form in the negative informal command as well.
Pronoun placement: the pronoun precedes (goes before) the verb in negative commands
and after the negative word.

No te levantes antes de comer tu calabaza. (Dont get up before you eat your
squash.)

Nunca les compres dulces a los nios. (Never buy candy for the children.)

Nunca se los compres. (Never buy it for them.)

Uses of se

These are "impersonal expressions". In other words, we don't really have

anyone specific in mind when we say "They say..." or "One" or " You". We
mean people in general. This is what we mean by "impersonal".
Spanish has a slightly different format for expressing this Impersonal
voice. Spanish adds the pronoun se in front of verbs to make general
statements. Impersonal voice using se will use a singular verb since
the se can be replaced by uno ("one").
Here are some examples:
How does one say "icecream" in Italian?

Cmo se dice "helado" en italiano?

You say (one says) "gelato".

Se dice "gelato".

How do you spell "Valencia"?

Cmo se escribe "Valencia"?

Notice that the Plural Impersonal (unknown "they") does not use the se :
They say that vegetarian pizza is
healthy.

Dicen que la pizza vegetariana es

saludosa.

They open the stores at 9:00am.

Abren las tiendas a las nueve de la

maana.

The "Passive se" is what we call in English "the passive voice".

An Active voice is when you have a subject doing something with an active verb. In
English a Passive voice has an object having something done to it with or without an
identified subject.
The Passive Voice in English uses a form of "to Be" with a Past Participle.
Let's look at some examples in English:

An Active Voice Construction

A Passive Voice Construction

Sra. Verde teaches me Spanish.

Spanish is taught to me (by Sra. Verde)

I purchased the dress.

The dress was purchased (by me)

I drove my father's new car.

My father's new car was driven (by me)

The Passive Voice in Spanish is normally formed by using se + the third

person singular or plural conjugation of a verb, similar to what we did with
the Impersonal se. In Spanish there is not a subject - identified or not!
Let's look at some examples in Spanish and English:

An Active Voice Construction

A Passive Voice Construction

Spanis
h

Los dependientes del almacn

hablan ruso.

Se habla ruso en el mercado.

Englis
h

The department store clerks

speak Russian.

Russian is spoken in the shopping

center.

Spanis
h

David escribe el libro en italiano.

Se escribe el libro en italiano.

Englis
h

David is writing the book in

Italian.

The book is written in Italian.

Spanis
h

La heladera vende una gran

cantidad de helado.

Se vende una gran cantidad de

helado.

Englis
h

The ice cream store sells a large

quantity of ice cream.

A large quantity of ice cream is

sold.

Spanis
h

Mis amigos comieron la torta.

Se comi la torta.

Englis
h

My friends ate the cake.

The cake was eaten.

Spanis
h

Los choferes pagan las multas los

lunes.

Se pagan las multas los lunes.

Englis
h

Drivers pay the fines on Mondays.

The fines are paid on Mondays.

Uses of por
Here, then, are the most common uses ofpor:
To indicate the cause of or reason for something: In such usages, por can
often be translated as "because of."

Examples: Por qu? (Why? Because of what? For what?) Trabajo aqu por el
dinero. (I work here because of the money. I work here for the money.) No
podemos salir por la lluvia. (We cannot leave because of the rain. We cannot
leave due to the rain.) Consegu el empleo por mi padre. (I got the job because of
my father. I got the job through my father.)
To indicate support for or action on behalf of some person or cause:

Examples: Voto por Julia Gonzlez. (I am voting for Julia Gonzales. I am

voting in support of Julia Gonzalez.) Es socio de Mdicos Por Justicia. (He is a
member of Doctors for Justice. He is a member of Doctors Supporting Justice.) Mi
padre est por no violencia. (My father is for nonviolence. My father is a supporter
of nonviolence.) Es el representante por el estado de Nueva York. (He's the
representative for the state of New York. He's the representative on behalf of the
state of New York.)
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To indicate an exchange of some sort:One common use of this type is
indicating how much something cost.

Examples: Compr el coche por $10.000 dlares.(I bought the car for
$10,000. I bought the car in exchange for $10,000.)Gracias por la
comida. (Thanks for the meal.) Quisiera cambiar la camisa por una nueva. (I'd like
to exchange the shirt for a new one.)
To indicate being in a place: In such uses, por doesn't indicate a destination, but
rather proximity or placement. It is often translated as "by" or "through."

Examples: Pasaremos por San Francisco. (We will pass through San
Francisco.)La escuela no est por aqu. (The school isn't near here.)
As a translation for "per": In informal contexts, a translation of "for" rather than
"per" is common in English.

Examples: El tres por ciento tiene dos coches. (Three percent have two
cars.)Compr dos regalos por persona. (I bought two gifts per person. I bought
two gifts for each person.) Trabajo 40 horas por semana. (I work 40 hours per
week. I work 40 hours a week.)
To mean "by" when it points to someone performing an action: Common
uses are indicating the author of a book or other work, or indicating the performer
of a passive verb.

Examples: Fue escrito por William Shakespeare. (It was written by William
Shakespeare.) Los tacos fueron comidos por los estudiantes. (The tacos were
eaten by the students.) Prefiero el libro por Isaac Asimov. (I prefer the book by
Isaac Asimov.) Puedo estudiar por s mismo. (I can read all by myself.)
In certain set phrases: Such phrases are commonly used as adverbs. The
meaning of such phrases isn't always obvious by translating the words individually.

Examples: por cierto (by the way), por lo general (generally), por
supuesto (of course), por otra parte (on the other hand), por fin (finally), por lo
menos (at least)
Subjunctive
Present

For most verbs, the present subjunctive is formed by following these

three steps:
Start with the yo form of the present indicative
Then drop the o ending
Finally, add the following endings
-ar verbs:
-e, -es,-e, -emos,- eis (con accento), -en
-er and ir verbs:
-a, -as, -a, -amos, -ais (con accento), -an
Verbs which in the present indicative have a special yo form ending in an o use the stem of that form for all the present subjunctive forms: Verbs with
the addition of a -g- in the yo form:
say
decir
do
hacer
hear
or
put:
poner
go out:
salir
have:
tener
bring:
traer
valer
venir

be
worth:
come:

digo: diga,
digas, diga,
digamos, digis,
digan
hago: haga,
hagas, haga, hagamos, hagis,
hagan
oigo: oiga,
oigas, oiga,
oigamos, oigis,
oigan
pong pongas, ponga, ponga, pongamos,
o:
pongis, pongan
salgo salga, salgas, salga, salgamos,
salgis, salgan
tengo tenga, tengas, tenga, tengamos,
tengis, tengan
traig traiga, traigas, traiga, traigamos,
o
traigis, traigan
valgo valga, valgas, valga, valgamos,
valgis, valgan
veng venga, vengas, venga, vengamos,
o
vengis, vengan

Stem changing verbs of the first (-ar) and second (-er) conjugations:
These verbs experience the same stem changes as the present indicative;
that is, the stem vowel changes into a diphthong whenever it is stressed. To
put it another way, the vowel in the stem changes in all forms except those
for nosotros and vosotros.
e - pensar: piense, pienses, piense, pensemos, pensis, piensen
>i
e
[Sample verbs: cerrar (close), *comenzar (begin),
*empezar (begin), encender (burn, turn on), entender (understand),

*negar (deny), pensar (think), perder (lose), querer(want), sentar (sit)]

o - mover: mueva, muevas, mueva, movamos, movis, muevan
>
ue
[Sample verbs: acordar (remember),
*almorzar (lunch), apostar (bet), colgar (hang up), contar (count,
relate), costar (cost), demostrar (demonstrate), encontrar (find), llover(rain)
, mostrar (show), mover (move), poder (be
able), recordar (remember), volver (return)]
u -> jugar: juegue, juegues, juegue, juguemos, juguis, jueguen
ue
Jugar (to play) and its compounds is the only one verb which has this change;
note that it also undergoes an orthographic change (g -> gu) to maintain the
hard g sound.
Ir stem changing verbs:
In the nosotros and vosotros forms -ir stem changing verbs show a special
change; the stem vowel is reduced to a single vowel: o -> ue -> u; e -> ie > i. The other forms undergo the same changes as in the present indicative
(a stem vowel change occurs whenever the stem vowel is stressed, that is, in
all forms except for nosotros and vosotros).
o -> ue ->
u

dormir: duerma, duermas, duerma, durmamos, durmis,

duerman

[Sample verbs: dormir (sleep) and morir (die)]

e -> sentir: sienta, sientas, sienta, sintamos, sintis, sientan
ie >i

e>i
-> i

[Sample
verbs: consentir (consent), convertir (convert), herir (injure), preferir (pref
er), mentir (lie) and sentir (feel, regret), and sugerir (suggest)]
pedir: pida, pidas, pida, pidamos, pidis, pidan

[Sample verbs: competir (compete), *conseguir (get),

*corregir (correct), despedir (say goodbye, dismiss),
*distinguir (distinguish),
*elegir (elect), medir (measure), pedir(request), rer (laugh),
*repetir (repeat), *seguir (follow, continue), servir (serve),
and vestir (dress)]
Imperfect

The imperfect subjunctive is used more often than you might think. Introduced with
a preterite, imperfect, conditional, or past perfect WEIRDO verb in the independent
clause, the imperfect subjunctive often refers to a previous experience but can also
refer to unlikely events or possibilities.

Si tuviera ms dinero, viajara por todo el mundo. (If I had more money, I
would travel around the whole world.)
Si yo fuera t, no lo hara. (If I were you, I wouldnt do it.)

Imperfect Subjunctive Forms

Finding the Imperfect Subjunctive Stem
To conjugate a verb in the imperfect subjunctive, you must first remember the 3rd
person plural of the preterit. Instead of using the infinitive for a stem, the imperfect
subjunctive uses the 3rd person plural of the preterite (without the -ron).
imperfect subjunctive stem = 3rd person plural preterit
(without the -ron)
Imperfect Subjunctive Stem Examples
infiniti3rd person
ve
preterite

imperfect
infiniti3rd person
subjunctive stem ve
preterite

imperfect
subjunctive stem

caber cupieron

cupie-

pedir pidieron

pidie-

dar

dieron

die-

poder pudieron

pudie-

decir dijeron

dije-

poner pusieron

pusie-

dormi
durmieron
r

durmie-

prefer
prefirieron
ir

prefirie-

estar estuvieron

estuvie-

quere
quisieron
r

quisie-

haber hubieron

hubie-

saber supieron

supie-

hacer hicieron

hicie-

sentir sintieron

sintie-

ir

fueron

fue-

ser

fue-

leer

leyeron

leye-

traduc
tradujeron
ir

traduje-

tuvie-

traer trajeron

traje-

tener tuvieron

fueron

Imperfect Subjunctive Endings

While all conjugations (AR, ER, -IR) have the same endings in the imperfect
subjunctive, there are two options for endings for the imperfect subjunctive. The
first option is used widely in speech in Spain, Latin America, and South America. The
second option is used more in written language and in Spain.
Imperfect Subjunctive Endings: 2 Options!
1st option (more common)

2nd option (much less common)

yo

-ra

yo

-se

-ras

-ses

usted, l, ella

-ra

usted, l, ella

-se

nosotros

-ramos

nosotros

-semos

vosotros

-rais

vosotros

-seis

ustedes, ellos, ellas

-ran

ustedes, ellos, ellas

-sen

Tricky Nosotros
All nosotros verb forms will carry a tilde on the vowel before the ending.

hablramos - hablsemos

escribiramos - escribisemos

Irregular Imperfect Subjunctive

All verbs that are irregular in the 3rd person preterit maintain the same irregularity
in the imperfect subjunctive (i.e. tener ->tuviera, tuviese).
Imperfect Subjunctive Uses
1. The Independent Clause is in the Past

If the independent clause is in the preterite or the imperfect, then the subjunctive
verb that follows will also be imperfect.

Quise que vinieras/vinieses a mi fiesta. (I wanted you to come to my party.)

Tena miedo de que no lloviera/lloviese. (I was scared it wouldn't rain.)

2. The Independent Clause Refers to a Previous Occurrence

This is used to express current emotions, doubts, etc. about something that
happened in the past.

Es bueno que (l) se casara/casase. (It's good that he got married.)

No me parece que el viaje fuera/fuese largo. (It doesn't seem to me that the
journey was long.)

3. To Indicate Unlikely Events

Use Ojal or ojal que to express the idea of hoping for something that is unlikely to
happen or is impossible.

Ojal que nevara/nevase en Panam. (I wish to God it were snowing in

Panama.)

Ojal mi hermano se casara/casase. (I wish my brother were getting

married.)

4. If Clauses
When introduced with si (if) the imperfect subjunctive can support an independent
clause which introduces a dependent conditionalclause. These are usually situations
that are not very likely.

Si yo fuera/fuese reina, viajara por todo el mundo. (If I were queen, I would
travel all over the world.)

Pintara ms seguido si tuviera/tuviese ms tiempo. (I would paint more

often if I had more time.)

5. Formal Request
Using only the verbs deber, querer, or poder, you can use the imperfect subjunctive
to make a very polite suggestion or formal request.

Quisiera dos semanas de vacacin. (I would like two weeks of vacation.)

Pudiera ayudarnos? (Could you help us?)

Present Perfect

The present perfect subjunctive (el pretrito perfecto de subjuntivo) functions the same as the present
perfect indicative, except that it follows all the rules for the subjunctive. It is used to describe an action that
happened in the past and continues or repeats into the present or an action that "has" happened in the
recent past. It can also describe an action that "will have" happened by a certain point as the present
perfect subjunctive has replaced thefuture perfect subjunctive.

Present Perfect Subjunctive Forms

The present perfect subjunctive is a combination of the past participle and the present subjunctive of the
verb haber.
Present Perfect Subjunctive Formula
present subjunctive haber + past participle

Present Perfect Subjunctive Uses

Actions that happened in the past and continue or repeat into the present

Mi profesor duda que yo haya ledo el libro. (My professor doubts that I have read the book.)

Me asusto de que usted me haya llamado. (I am shocked that you called me.)

Es bueno que hayamos hablado. (It is good that we talked.)

Actions that have happened in the recent past

Me asusto de que ellas no hayan bailado bien. (I am shocked that they have not danced
well.)

Lamentamos que ella no haya podido venir a la fiesta. (We regret that she was unable to
come to the party.)

Actions that will have been completed

Quiero que hayis escrito 5 pginas para el lunes. (I want you to have written 5 pages by
Monday.)

Es posible que ustedes hayan vuelto para marzo. (It is possible that you will have returned
by March.)

Irregular Past Participles:

abrir

abierto

cubrir

cubierto

decir

dicho

descubrir

descubierto

escribir

escrito

hacer

hecho

morir

muerto

poner

puesto

romper

roto

ver

visto

volver

vuelto

Past perfect
The Past Perfect subjunctive is formed in the same way we form
the past perfect in the indicative! We need a conjugation of the verb
Haber and a past participle. The only difference is that we conjugate
Haber in the Past (Imperfect) Subjunctive!

Habe
r

yo

l, ella,
usted

nosotros

ellos, ellas,
ustedes

hubiera

hubiera
s

hubiera

hubiram
os

hubieran

And we still use the same past participles as we do for both the regular
and the subjunctive Present Perfect:

Esperaba que Ryan hubiera

comprado la cerveza.

I was hoping that Ryan had bought the

beer. [Implied: that he did not buy it.]

Me alegr de que Tracy hubiera ido a

Espaa con su clase.

I was happy that Tracy went (had gone)

to Spain

Dudbamos que hubieran llegado.

We doubted that they had arrived.

Me gustara que Joann hubiera

matriculado en la clase de espaol
101B el semestre pasado.

I would have liked that Joann had

enrolled in the Spanish 101B class last
semester. (alas, she didn't)

We use the past perfect subjunctive when we want to express a

reaction we had to or an emotion we felt in the past about something
that had happened or that were to have happened.

Subjunctive in noun clauses, adjective clauses,

Subjunctive vs. Indicative
Future Tense
Double Pronouns
Perfect Tenses
Subjunctive in Adverb Clauses
Conditional
Conditional and clausas con si
Clausulas con si
Subjunctive in clausulas con si