Español — Present subjunctive forms
The present subjunctive is built from the yo-stem of the present indicative with the opposite theme vowel: hable, coma, viva. A small group of verbs (sea, esté, vaya, haya, sepa, dé) is irregular.
How it works
Take the yo form of the present indicative (hablo, como, vivo), drop the -o, and add the opposite vowel: -ar verbs take -e (hable), while -er/-ir verbs take -a (coma, viva). Because it starts from the yo-stem, stem changes and spelling changes carry through: tengo → tenga, busco → busque, empiezo → empiece.
The forms
| Infinitive / yo form | Present subjunctive (yo … ellos) |
|---|---|
| hablar → hablo | hable, hables, hable, hablemos, habléis, hablen |
| comer → como | coma, comas, coma, comamos, comáis, coman |
| vivir → vivo | viva, vivas, viva, vivamos, viváis, vivan |
| tener → tengo | tenga, tengas, tenga, tengamos, tengáis, tengan |
| buscar → busco | busque, busques, busque, busquemos, busquéis, busquen |
| ser → soy | sea, seas, sea, seamos, seáis, sean |
| ir → voy | vaya, vayas, vaya, vayamos, vayáis, vayan |
| saber → sé | sepa, sepas, sepa, sepamos, sepáis, sepan |
Good to know
Six common verbs do not come from the yo-stem and must be memorized: ser → sea, estar → esté, ir → vaya, haber → haya, saber → sepa, dar → dé. Note the accent on dé, which sets it apart from the preposition de. In -ar/-er stem-changing verbs the change disappears in nosotros/vosotros (empecemos, not empiecemos), but in -ir verbs those forms keep a weakened change (durmamos, pidamos).