Subjunctive: Part V

Notes:

  1. The written lesson is below.
  2. Links to quizzes, tests, etc. are to the left.

 

In Part I, you learned that the subjunctive mood is used whenever the speaker feels uncertain about the action of the sentence, or when the speaker is expressing a subjective opinion.

In Parts II – IV, you learned all the rules for conjugating regular verbs in the present subjunctive.

In this lesson, you will simply practice one of the many ways the subjunctive is used: to express desire.

Here is a list of common expressions that introduce an aspect of desire to the sentence, and therefore trigger the use of the subjunctive.

esperar que
to wish that …
insistir en que …
to insist that …
mandar que …
to order that …
preferir que …
to prefer that …
prohibir que …
to prohibit that …
querer que …
to want that …
es aconsejable que …
it’s advisable that …
es necesario que …
it’s necessary that …
pedir que …
to ask that …
recomendar que …
to recommend that …
rogar que …
to plead that …
sugerir que …
to suggest that …

Remember, there are also expressions that trigger the use of the indicative mood, since they introduce a quality of certainty or objectivity. Here’s a partial list of such expressions that we will mix into the practice exercises for this lesson, just to keep you on your toes!

creer que …
to believe that …
no dudar que …
to not doubt that …
estar seguro que …
to be sure that …
no es dudoso que …
it is not doubtful that …
no hay duda que …
there is no doubt that …

Let’s add a flashcard for some of the phrases used to indicate desire:

Verb Flashcards
Complete List

Present Subjunctive – desire

esperar que
insistir en que
mandar que
preferir que
prohibir que
querer que
es aconsejable que
es necesario que
pedir que
recomendar que
rogar que
sugerir que