# 46. Understanding the Subjunctive

- **Time range:** 03:27:32 – 03:35:21  (duration 00:07:49)
- **Source:** [A Complete Guide To Every Fundamental In Spanish (The Conclusion)](https://youtube.com/watch?v=YHDZSHCt1DE&t=12452s)

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**[03:27:32]** that in this video and the videos after this one I'll be explaining the subjunctive in Spanish which is the last

> **[on-screen 03:27:35]**
> The Subjunctive In Spanish

**[03:27:36]** most difficult concept ending all of my Topics in Spanish typically it's a concept that students students learn in intermediate Spanish before learning the future tenses however I decided to keep it until the end because of its difficulty and after I'm done with it I'll compile all of my Spanish videos into one long video that has every Spanish principle the reason why the subjunctive is so hard is because it has

> **[on-screen 03:27:55]**
> The subjunctive is difficult because it has the most variations

**[03:27:55]** a lot of variations more than any other tense in Spanish that have shown on this channel unlike the past tense which has

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> The Past Tense (Variations): e Regular Past e Imperfect Past e Past Perfect

**[03:28:01]** three and the future tense which has a

> **[on-screen 03:28:02]**
> The Future Tense (Variations): e Regular Future e Future Perfect

**[03:28:03]** couple the subjunctive has a total of

> **[on-screen 03:28:04]**
> The Subjunctive (Variations): e Present Subjunctive e Past Subjunctive e Present Perfect Subjunctive e Past Perfect Subjunctive

**[03:28:04]** four variations that need to be shown individually in this video I'll only explain the principles of the subjunctive and individual after this one I'll explain each topic individually before learning how to make sentences in the subjunctive we need to understand its formation and the variations that it has as far as I know in the subjunctive there are only four ways that it can change there's the present subjunctive the past subjunctive the present perfect subjunctive and the past perfect subjunctive there also used to be a future subjunctive in Spanish which is now Obsolete and being replaced by the present subjunctive overall just know that these are the variations of the subjunctive I already made videos about the present and the past in Spanish and so some concepts are more useful than others however after this video I'll explain each tense separately because there's a lot to know in this video I will not focus on any of these tenses because I'll just explain how the subjunctive Works in general by presenting its fundamentals you might

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> The subjunctive is amood that expresses the speaker’s attitude towards events, actions, and states that are uncertain/hypothetical

**[03:28:55]** have heard some teachers explaining the subjunctive as a mood that expresses the speaker's attitude towards events actions and states that are uncertain or hypothetical despite other Educators explaining the subjunctive differently I

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> The iunctive i ood that exp Ss peaker’s attitude s events, actions, that are unc /hyp tical

**[03:29:06]** do not like any of these explanations because they tend to confuse students rather than make them understand the subject matter properly I recommend that all of you ignore these definitions because my definition of the subjunctive is far simpler but keep in mind that this explanation makes perfect sense to me I apologize if it doesn't make sense to you but it should help you understand the subjunctive better the easiest way

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> 1). Spotting a subjunctive phrase:

**[03:29:24]** to spot a subjunctive sentence is through this construction subject verb

> **[on-screen 03:29:27]**
> 1). Spotting a subjunctive phrase: S/V + that + S/V

**[03:29:28]** plus that plus subject verb in Spanish the phrase will be subject verb plus K

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> 1). Spotting a subjunctive phrase: S/V + that + S/V S/V + que+S/V

**[03:29:32]** plus subject verb this is the type of phrase that you will see all the time which activates the subjunctive meaning that a sentence can start with any

> **[on-screen 03:29:39]**
> 1). Spotting a subjunctive phrase: S/V + that + S/V S/V + que + S/V A sentence can start with ANY subject and ANY verb and continue with ANY subject and ANY verb

**[03:29:39]** subject and any verb and continue with any subject and any verb aside from Vos however this is where we need to pay close attention to the details in order to fully understand what activates the subjunctive and what doesn't just because a sentence has a subject verb plus ke plus a subject and a verb it does not mean that the phrase will be in the subjunctive mainly because we have

> **[on-screen 03:29:57]**
> 1). Spotting a subjunctive phrase: S/V + que+S/V PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO THE FIRST VERB IN THE SENTENCE

**[03:29:57]** to pay close attention to the first verb in the sentence in order to have a sentence that is activated in the subjunctive the first verb in the sentence conjugated with its pronoun

> **[on-screen 03:30:06]**
> 1). Spotting a subjunctive phrase: S/V + que+S/V “ The first verb in the sentence UST bea verb of Permits Will, Emotion, Influence, FIRST VERB IN THE Recommendation, or SENTENCE Doubt/Disbelief/Denial

**[03:30:06]** must be a verb of will emotion influence recommendation or doubt disbelief and denial a simple way to remember this is by using the word weird the initial

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> 1). Spotting a subjunctive phrase: S/V + que+S/V * The first verb in the sentence MUST bea verb of Ponders THE Will, Emotion, !nfluence, FIRST VERB IN THE Recommendation, or SENTENCE Doubt/Disbelief/Denial WEIRD

**[03:30:15]** letter of every category combines into the word weird so you must have a verb that comes from this list if a verb does not come from weird the subjunctive is not activated and here's what I mean we

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> | believe that you ate

**[03:30:25]** can have a sentence like I believe that you ate which in Spanish would

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> | believe that you ate Yo creo que tu comiste

**[03:30:29]** be in this case the phrase is not in the

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> | believe that you ate Yo creo que tu comiste The phrase is NOT subjunctive because the verb “creer” doesn’t come from WEIRD; it’s verb that expresses an opinion

**[03:30:32]** subjunctive because the verb doesn't

> **[on-screen 03:30:33]**
> I believe that you ate Yo creo que tu comiste The phrase is NOT subjunctive because the verb “creer” doesn’t come from WEIRD; it’s verb that expresses an opinion

**[03:30:34]** come from weird it's simply a verb that expresses an opinion not to mention that the second verb in the phrase is conjugated properly therefore it's not in the subjunctive similarly we can say

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> | know that you ate Yo sé que tu comiste

**[03:30:43]** I know that you ate which would be this sentence also doesn't activate

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> | know that you ate Yo sé que tu comiste This sentence also is NOT subjunctive because “saber” means to know factually; therefore, it does NOT come from WEIRD

**[03:30:48]** the subjunctive because sa means to know

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> | know that you ate Yo se que tu comiste This sentence also is NOT subjunctive because “saber” means to know factually; therefore, it does NOT come from WEIRD

**[03:30:50]** factually and therefore it does not come from weird in these cases you have to

> **[on-screen 03:30:53]**
> 1). Spotting a subjunctive phrase: S/V + que+S/V * The first verb in the sentence MUST bea verb of Print THE Will, Emotion, !nfluence, FIRST VERB IN THE Recommendation, or SENTENCE Doubt/Disbelief/Denial WEIRD

**[03:30:54]** find verbs that activate the subjunctive and these have to be verbs of will emotion influence recommendation or doubt disbelief and denial based on my experience in Spanish these are the most

> **[on-screen 03:31:03]**
> Verbs that activate the subjunctive: (the first verb in the sentence, coming from W.E.!.R.D) will: Emotion: ¢ Preferir - to prefer ¢ Esperar - to hope ¢ Necesitar - to need © Gustar - to be pleased © Querer - to want ¢ Tener miedo - to be afraid Recommendation: Influence: * Aconesjar - to advise ¢ Desear-towish/todesire + Sugerir - to suggest ¢ Insistir (en) - to insist (on) —* Recomendar - to recommend Doubt/Disbelief/Denial * Dudar - to doubt ¢ Negar - to deny © No pensar - to not think

**[03:31:03]** common verbs that activate the subjunctive which means that they can begin with literally any subject in Spanish obviously I'm not including every verb on theist list but these are the most common verbs used to express the subjunctive if you see a sentence starting with any of these verbs and with any subject the sentence will be in the subjunctive if you see a sentence that doesn't start with any of these

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> Verb t activate the ctive: (the firs! e sentence, con W.E.1.R.D) will: Emg ° Preferir - to pi - to hope ¢ Necesitar - to net ar - to be pleased © Querer - to want ner miedo - to be afraid amendation: Influence: esjar - to advise * Desear - to wi e to suggest * Insistir (e! (on) eh ar - to recommend bt/Disbelief/Denial ¢ Dudar - to doubt « Negar - to deny © No pensar - to not think

**[03:31:22]** verbs or from verbs that don't come from weird it will not be in the subjunctive that's the first thing you should know about the subjunctive in Spanish the second thing you should know about the subjunctive is something that is related to the construction subject verb K subject verb in this typical phrase the

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> 2). The second verb MUST be conjugated VERY IRREGULARLY S/V + que+S/V 7 The second verb MUST be modified in the most irregular way possible

**[03:31:35]** second verb must be modified in the most irregular way possible especially in the present and past subjunctive considering

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> 2). The second verb MUST be conjugated VERY IRREGULARLY S/\V + que + S/V 7 * The second verb MUST be Verb coming modified in the from W.E.I.R.D most irregular way possible

**[03:31:42]** that the first verb comes from weird which activates the subjunctive the second verb in the sentence has to change in a completely different way unlike any other way that I've shown on this channel however I will not present this way in this video I'll present it in the videos after this one considering that there are four tenses of the subjunctive to begin with additionally this part of the phrase can literally

> **[on-screen 03:32:00]**
> 2). The second verb MUST be conjugated VERY IRREGULARLY S/V + que + S/V 7 * * The second verb . ANY subject/. MUST be Verb coming ANY verb modified in the from W.E.I.R.D most irregular way possible

**[03:32:01]** consist of any subject and any verb considering that I said that the second verb has to get modified in the most irregular way this means that you will have to not only memorize every conjugation of every verb but you will also have to understand how stem changing and irregular verbs are used in the second part of the phrase within every tense the pattern completely changes in the present subjunctive which is different from the past subjunctive and so on this is what makes the

> **[on-screen 03:32:22]**
> This is what makes the subjunctive VERY DIFFICULT: ¢ You will have to memorize every conjugation of every verb ¢ You will have to memorize how each conjugation corresponds with each pronoun ¢ You will have to understand how stem-changing, irregular “yo” verbs, irregular verbs, and reflexive verbs are used ¢ You will have to memorize and understand every tense in the subjunctive (present, past, present perfect, past perfect) They are ALL DIFFERENT from one another

**[03:32:23]** subjunctive the most difficult Concept in Spanish considering that you have a

> **[on-screen 03:32:26]**
> This is what makes the subjunctive VERY DIFFICULT: ¢ You will have to memorize every conjugation of every verb ¢ You will have to memorize how each conjugation corresponds with each pronoun ¢ You will have to understand how stem-changing, irregular “yo” verbs, irregular verbs, and reflexive verbs are used ¢ You will have to memorize and understand every tense in the subjunctive (present, past, present perfect, past perfect) They are ALL DIFFERENT from one another S/V + que + S/V

**[03:32:26]** subjunctive phrase mainly consisting of a subject verb K subject verb the second

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> This is what makes the subjunctive VERY DIFFICULT: ¢ You will have to memorize every conjugation of every verb * You will have to memorize how each conjugation corresponds with each pronoun * You will have to understand how stem-changing, irregular “yo” verbs, irregular verbs, and reflexive verbs are used * You will have to memorize and understand every tense in the subjunctive (present, past, present perfect, past perfect) They are ALL DIFFERENT from one another S/V + que + S/V any S+anyV

**[03:32:30]** part of the phrase can literally begin with any subject and any verb that has to not only correspond to the subject but also be modified in a completely different way if you think about it then you have stem changing IR yo verbs and irregular verbs in general and on top of all of that you have four tenses that change each verb in a different way I apologize if it sounds too confusing but that's the best way that I can describe the subjunctive there are no examples in this video because I'm simply going over the principles of the subjunctive but I will provide many useful phrases in the videos after this one mainly consisting of one useful verb from each category of weird moreover there's a third concept you should know in the subjunctive and that is separate phrases that can still

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> 3). Separate phrases that can still activate the subjunctive S/V + que+S/V

**[03:33:07]** activate the subjunctive which is different than subject verb k subject verb like I said previously just because the phrase begins with a subject verb K subject verb it doesn't automatically mean that the phrase is subjunctive

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> 3). Separate phrases that can still activate the subjunctive [main clause] + [subordinate clause]

**[03:33:18]** sometimes we can have phrases that begin with a main clause and end with a subordinate clause in order to indicate what activates the subjunctive and these phrases can be S necessar Plus subject

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> 3). Separate phrases that can still activate the subjunctive (IMC. + S.C.]), ¢ Es necesario que - It’s necessary that ¢ Es importante que - It’s important that e Es urgente que - It’s urgent that e Es bueno que - It’s good that e Es mejor que - It’s better that ¢ Es malo que - It‘s bad that e Es triste que - It’s sad that

**[03:33:28]** verb ser important plus subject verb and so on obviously there are more sentences that activate the subjunctive using other Expressions conjunctions and even adjective Clauses but I will not talk about them in this video and future videos because it's simply too excessive and impractical what you should know are the most utilized expressions in the subjunctive just to understand how the subjunctive functions and of course there are sentences similar to these Expressions that do not activate the subjunctive like it's a fact that you

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> it’s a fact that you ate Es un hecho que tu comiste

**[03:33:55]** ate this sentence looks like it's going to activate the subjunctive but it's

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> it’s a fact that you ate Es un hecho que tu comiste This sentence is NOT subjunctive because the expression is simply a fact, not relating to W.E.!.R.D

**[03:33:59]** really not so make sure that you watch out for these ideas and so finally this is everything you should know and understand about the subjunctive in Spanish and this is why it's the most difficult Concept in Spanish at first in

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> The Subjunctive In Spanish: 1a). Spotting a subjunctive phrase: S/V + que + S/V 1b). Spotting a subjunctive phrase: [M.C] + que + S/V

**[03:34:10]** order to activate the subjunctive you need to have a sentence that has a subject verb can subject verb or a general main Clause that supports a subordinate clause like s necess okay subject verb secondly if you were to use the first construction then the first verb in the sentence would have to be a

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> The Subjunctive In Spanish: 1a). Spotting a subjunctive phrase: S/V + que + S/V 1b). Spotting a subjunctive phrase: [M.C] + que + S/V 2). Taken from 1a, the first verb in the phrase MUST come from Will, influence, Emotion, Recommendation, or Doubt/Disbelief/Denial, also known as W.E.!.R.D

**[03:34:25]** verb of will emotion influence recommendation or doubt disbelief and denial also known as weird if a verb does not come from weird the subjunctive is not activated however if it is activated the second verb of the

> **[on-screen 03:34:36]**
> The Subjunctive In Spanish: 1a). Spotting a subjunctive phrase: S/V + que + S/V 1b). Spotting a subjunctive phrase: [M.C] + que + S/V 2). Taken from 1a, the first verb in the phrase MUST come from Will, Influence, Emotion, Recommendation, or Doubt/Disbelief/Denial, also known as W.E.!.R.D 3). The second verb of the sentence ABSOLUTELY MUST be modified in the oddest way possible, depending on the tense that you want to utilize

**[03:34:36]** sentence absolutely must be modified in the oddest way possible depending on the tense that you want to utilize the second part of either phrase can consist

> **[on-screen 03:34:43]**
> The Subjunctive In Spanish: 1a). Spotting a subjunctive phrase: S/V + que + S/V 1b). Spotting a subjunctive phrase: [M.C] + que + S/V 2). Taken from 1a, the first verb in the phrase MUST come from Will, Influence, Emotion, Recommendation, or Doubt/Disbelief/Denial, also known as W.E.|.R.D 3). The second verb of the sentence ABSOLUTELY MUST be modified in the oddest way possible, depending on the tense that you want to utilize 4). The second part of either phrase can have ANY subject and ANY verb which UST be conjugated depending on the subject and the tense (present, past, present perfect, past perfect)

**[03:34:44]** of literally any subject and any verb and the verb must be conjugated the proper way depending on the subject and the tense whether it's in the present past present perfect or past perfect to recap what I've just said this is the reason why the subjunctive in Spanish is the most difficult concept hands down it has four tenses it must have a verb coming from weird or a general main Clause the second part can consist of any subject and any verb and the second verb has to get conjugated depending on the tense this is everything that you should know about the subjunctive in Spanish and in the videos after this one I'll go in depth and explain each variation as easily as I can in order to make your learning as easy as possible
