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Your Colombian professor says: "Es necesario que ustedes practiquen todos los dias." You know "practican" from the indicative. But this practiquen follows a simple, beautiful rule: swap the vowel. That is the entire secret to forming the present subjunctive for regular verbs. In this lesson, you will master that rule and drill it until conjugation feels automatic.
B1-B2 Language Objectives
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
This is the single most important rule for forming the present subjunctive. Memorize it:
-AR verbs swap to -E endings. -ER and -IR verbs swap to -A endings.
That is it. The indicative uses one vowel; the subjunctive uses the opposite. This is why linguists call it the "opposite vowel" or "vowel swap" rule.
| Verb Type | Indicative Vowel | Subjunctive Vowel |
|---|---|---|
| -AR (hablar) | -a- (habla, hablas...) | -e- (hable, hables...) |
| -ER (comer) | -e- (come, comes...) | -a- (coma, comas...) |
| -IR (vivir) | -e- (vive, vives...) | -a- (viva, vivas...) |
If 'hablar' (an -ar verb) conjugates as 'habla' in the indicative, what is the subjunctive form?
Here is the trick that makes subjunctive conjugation easy: start with the yo form of the present indicative, drop the -o, and add subjunctive endings.
Yo form (indicative) → Drop the -o → Add subjunctive endings
| Verb | Yo Indicative | Drop -o | Subjunctive Stem |
|---|---|---|---|
| hablar | hablo | habl- | habl + e, es, e, emos, en |
| comer | como | com- | com + a, as, a, amos, an |
| vivir | vivo | viv- | viv + a, as, a, amos, an |
This shortcut is powerful because it also works for many irregular verbs (Lesson 3). If the yo form is irregular in the indicative, that irregularity carries into the subjunctive.
| Person | Indicative | Subjunctive | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | hablo | hable | -o → -e |
| tu | hablas | hables | -as → -es |
| usted/el/ella | habla | hable | -a → -e |
| nosotros | hablamos | hablemos | -amos → -emos |
| ustedes/ellos | hablan | hablen | -an → -en |
Practice with more -AR verbs - the endings are always the same:
| Person | ESTUDIAR | COCINAR | TRABAJAR |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | estudie | cocine | trabaje |
| tu | estudies | cocines | trabajes |
| usted | estudie | cocine | trabaje |
| nosotros | estudiemos | cocinemos | trabajemos |
| ustedes | estudien | cocinen | trabajen |
Complete: 'Es importante que tu _____ (estudiar) para el examen.'
Complete: 'Quiero que ustedes _____ (hablar) en espanol.'
| Person | Indicative | Subjunctive | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | como | coma | -o → -a |
| tu | comes | comas | -es → -as |
| usted/el/ella | come | coma | -e → -a |
| nosotros | comemos | comamos | -emos → -amos |
| ustedes/ellos | comen | coman | -en → -an |
More -ER verbs:
| Person | BEBER | CORRER | LEER |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | beba | corra | lea |
| tu | bebas | corras | leas |
| usted | beba | corra | lea |
| nosotros | bebamos | corramos | leamos |
| ustedes | beban | corran | lean |
Complete: 'Mi mama quiere que yo _____ (comer) mas verduras.'
Complete: 'Es necesario que nosotros _____ (correr) todos los dias.'
A Colombian Mother at Dinner
Mama: Quiero que coman todo. No quiero que dejen nada en el plato. Hijo: Pero mama, no me gusta la sopa... Mama: No me importa. Es importante que coman bien.
Notice: three subjunctive forms. 'Quiero que' triggers 'coman' and 'dejen.' 'Es importante que' triggers 'coman.' All are -ER verbs with -A- subjunctive endings.
| Person | Indicative | Subjunctive | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | vivo | viva | -o → -a |
| tu | vives | vivas | -es → -as |
| usted/el/ella | vive | viva | -e → -a |
| nosotros | vivimos | vivamos | -imos → -amos |
| ustedes/ellos | viven | vivan | -en → -an |
More -IR verbs:
| Person | ESCRIBIR | ABRIR | RECIBIR |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | escriba | abra | reciba |
| tu | escribas | abras | recibas |
| usted | escriba | abra | reciba |
| nosotros | escribamos | abramos | recibamos |
| ustedes | escriban | abran | reciban |
ER and IR Have the Same Subjunctive Endings
Notice that -ER and -IR verbs share identical subjunctive endings: -a, -as, -a, -amos, -an. The only verbs with different subjunctive endings are -AR verbs (-e, -es, -e, -emos, -en). This simplifies your memorization: you only need two sets of endings, not three.
Complete: 'Necesito que tu _____ (escribir) el ensayo.'
Complete: 'Ojala que ellos _____ (vivir) cerca de nosotros.'
| Person | -AR Subjunctive | -ER/-IR Subjunctive |
|---|---|---|
| yo | -e | -a |
| tu | -es | -as |
| usted/el/ella | -e | -a |
| nosotros | -emos | -amos |
| ustedes/ellos | -en | -an |
At Universidad Nacional, Bogota
Profesor: Es necesario que ustedes escriban un ensayo. Quiero que investiguen el tema y que lean tres articulos. Recomiendo que trabajen en grupos.
Can you identify each subjunctive form and its infinitive?
Conjugate 'trabajar' for 'nosotros' in the present subjunctive.
Which is the correct subjunctive of 'beber' for 'yo'?
'Mi jefe necesita que yo _____ (preparar) la presentacion.' Choose the correct form.
Step 1: Identify the verb type Is it -AR, -ER, or -IR? This determines which vowel set you will use.
Step 2: Find the yo form of the present indicative Hablar → hablo. Comer → como. Vivir → vivo.
Step 3: Drop the -o Hablo → habl-. Como → com-. Vivo → viv-.
Step 4: Add the opposite-vowel endings -AR (habl-): -e, -es, -e, -emos, -en → hable, hables, hable, hablemos, hablen. -ER (com-): -a, -as, -a, -amos, -an → coma, comas, coma, comamos, coman. -IR (viv-): -a, -as, -a, -amos, -an → viva, vivas, viva, vivamos, vivan.
Test yourself: