Subjuntivo: conjugaciones irregulares
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Many Spanish verbs are irregular in the subjunctive, though all but dar and estar (see below) use the same subjunctive endings as regular verbs.
Stem-changing verbs
There are three kinds of stem-changing -ir verbs, and they all have their stem change in at least some of their subjunctive conjugations.
1. E IE
- All singular forms (yo, tú, él) and third person plural (ellos) maintain the stem change
- Nosotros and vosotros forms change E in stem to I
SENTIR | Present | Subjunctive | |
…que yo | siento | sienta | |
…que tú | sientes | sientas | |
…que él/ella/Ud. | siente | sienta | |
…que nosotros | sentimos | sintamos | |
…que vosotros | sentís | sintáis | |
…que ellos/Uds. | sienten | sientan |
2. E I
- All forms have an I in the stem, whether or not they have it in the present
PEDIR | Present | Subjunctive | |
…que yo | pido | pida | |
…que tú | pides | pidas | |
…que él/ella/Ud. | pide | pida | |
…que nosotros | pedimos | pidamos | |
…que vosotros | pedís | pidáis | |
…que ellos/Uds. | piden | pidan |
3. O UE
- All singular forms and third person plural maintain the stem change
- Nosotros and vosotros forms change the O in the stem to U
DORMIR | Present | Subjunctive | |
…que yo | duermo | duerma | |
…que tú | duermes | duermas | |
…que él/ella/Ud. | duerme | duerma | |
…que nosotros | dormimos | durmamos | |
…que vosotros | dormís | durmáis | |
…que ellos/Uds. | duermen | duerman |
Note: Stem-changing –ar and –er verbs are regular in the subjunctive and are thus included in regular subjunctive conjugations.
Irregular first person singular
Most verbs, including all G verbs, which have an irregular first person singular conjugation use that conjugation as the subjunctive stem.
Verb | Yo form | Subjunctive |
caber | yo quepo | quepa, quepas, quepa, quepamos, quepáis, quepan |
caer | caigo | caiga, caigas, caiga, caigamos, caigáis, caigan |
conocer | conozco | conozca, conozcas, conozca, conozcamos, conozcáis, conozcan |
construir | construyo | construya, construyas, construya, construyamos, construyáis, construyan |
decir | digo | diga, digas, diga, digamos, digáis, digan |
distinguir | distingo | distinga, distingas, distinga, distingamos, distingáis, distingan |
elegir | elijo | elija, elijas, elija, elijamos, elijáis, elijan |
hacer | hago | haga, hagas, haga, hagamos, hagáis, hagan |
oír | oigo | oiga, oigas, oiga, oigamos, oigáis, oigan |
parecer | parezco | parezca, parezcas, parezca, parezcamos, parezcáis, parezcan |
poner | pongo | ponga, pongas, ponga, pongamos, pongáis, pongan |
salir | salgo | salga, salgas, salga, salgamos, salgáis, salgan |
tener | tengo | tenga, tengas, tenga, tengamos, tengáis, tengan |
traer | traigo | traiga, traigas, traiga, traigamos, traigáis, traigan |
valer | valgo | valga, valgas, valga, valgamos, valgáis, valgan |
venir | vengo | venga, vengas, venga, vengamos, vengáis, vengan |
ver | veo | vea, veas, vea, veamos, veáis, vean |
Note: Verbs with the same endings (-ger, –gir, –guer, –guir, –uir, etc.) follow the same conjugation patterns.
Irregular stems
The following verbs have irregular subjunctive stems:
Verb | Stem | Subjunctive |
haber | hay- | haya, hayas, haya, hayamos, hayáis, hayan |
ir | vay- | vaya, vayas, vaya, vayamos, vayáis, vayan |
saber | sep- | sepa, sepas, sepa, sepamos, sepáis, sepan |
ser | se- | sea, seas, sea, seamos, seáis, sean |
Irregular stem endings
The following verb groups change the final letter in the stem due to the issue of hard vs soft vowels:
Verbs that end in –car (c –» qu) | ||
buscar | busqu- | busque, busques, busque, busquemos, busquéis, busquen |
Verbs that end in –gar (g –» gu) | ||
pagar | pagu- | pague, pagues, pague, paguemos, paguéis, paguen |
Verbs that end in –zar (z –» c) | ||
lanzar | lanc- | lance, lances, lance, lancemos, lancéis, lancen |
Two verbs have irregular subjunctive forms due to accents:
Verb | Subjunctive |
dar | dé, des, dé, demos, deis, den |
estar | esté, estés, esté, estemos, estéis, estén |
Subjunctive Quizzes
Think you’ve got it? Test yourself on the Spanish subjunctive with these fill-in-the-blanks exercises:
Note: You must be logged into your Progress with Lawless Spanish account to take these tests. If you don’t have one, sign up – it’s free!
More Spanish Subjunctive
Conjugations
- Regular verbs
- Irregular verbs
- Subjunctive conjugations – PwLS super list
Usage
- Verbs and expressions
- Conjunctions
- Adjective clauses
- Negation and interrogation
- Si clauses
- The Sujunctivisor!
Spanish Subjunctive Tenses
- Present
- Present Perfect
- Imperfect
- Pluperfect
- Future
En français
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