The Present Subjunctive: Regular Verbs

The subjunctive is not a tense; rather, it is a mood. Tense refers when an action takes place (past, present, future), while mood merely reflects how the speaker feels about the action. The subjunctive mood is rarely used in English, but it is widely used in Spanish.

Use this verb quizzer to practice conjugating verbs in the present subjunctive. To learn when to use the subjunctive, please refer to the appropriate exercises in the Grammar Tutorial, starting with Subjunctive Part I.

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

  1. Start with the yo form of the present indicative.
  2. Then drop the -o ending.
  3. Finally, add the following endings:

-ar verbs:
-e, -es, -e, -emos, -éis, en

-er and -ir verbs:
-a, -as, -a, -amos, -áis, -an

Regular -ar verbs like hablar (yo hablo).

hablo – o = habl

habl + e = hable
habl + es = hables
habl + e = hable
habl + emos = hablemos
habl + éis = habléis
habl + en = hablen

Regular -er verbs like comer (yo como).

como – o = com

com + a = coma
com + as = comas
com + a = coma
com + amos = comamos
com + áis = comáis
com + an = coman

Regular -ir verbs like vivir (yo vivo).

vivo – o = viv

viv + a = viva
viv + as = vivas
viv + a = viva
viv + amos = vivamos
viv + áis = viváis
viv + an = vivan