Imperfect Subjunctive: -Se Forms

Spanish has two parallel sets of imperfect subjunctive endings: the -ra forms and the -se forms. Both are grammatically correct, and in nearly every context they are completely interchangeable. In Latin America, the -ra forms dominate everyday speech, but the -se forms still appear frequently in literature, formal writing, and older texts.

Formation

The formation process is identical to the -ra forms:

  1. Take the third person plural preterite (ellos/ellas/ustedes).
  2. Drop the -ron ending.
  3. Add the -se endings instead of -ra: -se, -ses, -se, -semos, -sen.

As with the -ra forms, the nosotros form carries a written accent.

hablar → hablaron → hablase

to speak → they spoke → (that) I spoke

The -Se Endings

SubjectEnding
yo-se
tú-ses
él / ella / usted-se
nosotros-´semos (with accent)
ellos / ellas / ustedes-sen

Hablar (to speak)

SubjectForm
yohablase
túhablases
él / ella / ustedhablase
nosotroshablásemos
ellos / ellas / ustedeshablasen

Quería que hablases con él.

I wanted you to speak with him.

Comer (to eat)

SubjectForm
yocomiese
túcomieses
él / ella / ustedcomiese
nosotroscomiésemos
ellos / ellas / ustedescomiesen

Esperaba que comiesen antes de salir.

I was hoping that they would eat before leaving.

Vivir (to live)

SubjectForm
yoviviese
túvivieses
él / ella / ustedviviese
nosotrosviviésemos
ellos / ellas / ustedesviviesen

Me pidió que viviese con ellos.

She asked me to live with them.

When You Will See -Se Forms

In Latin American Spanish, -se forms are uncommon in conversation but appear regularly in:

  • Literature and classical novels — García Márquez, Borges, and Cortázar all use -se forms.
  • Legal and formal documents — contracts and official writing.
  • Academic prose — historical or philosophical essays.
  • Peninsular (Spain) Spanish — where -se is more evenly balanced with -ra.

Si yo fuese rico, viajaría por todo el mundo.

If I were rich, I would travel all over the world.

No pensaba que llegásemos tan lejos.

I didn't think we would get so far.

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The -se forms are passive knowledge for most Latin American learners. You need to recognize them when reading, but you do not need to use them actively. The -ra forms are always a safe choice in speech.

Interchangeability

Any -ra form can be replaced with its -se equivalent without changing the meaning. The two sentences below are grammatically identical:

Me dijo que estudiara más.

He told me to study more.

Me dijo que estudiase más.

He told me to study more.

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There is one exception to the interchangeability: the -ra form can sometimes replace the conditional in literary Spanish (quisiera for querría), but the -se form cannot. See ra vs se for details.

For a direct comparison of usage and register, see -ra vs -se differences.

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