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Spanish (Latin America)

### The Subjunctive Mood: Setting Priorities

Up to now, you have used the indicative mood to talk about facts and certainties. To express advice, possibilities, or priorities, Spanish uses a different mood: the **subjunctive**.

One of the most common ways to trigger the subjunctive is with impersonal expressions. These are general statements starting with **es** (it is), an adjective, and the word **que** (that).

{{item:781105}}

{{item:781087}}

Notice how the verbs after **que** change their usual present tense endings (like *hagan* instead of *hacen*, or *evalúes* instead of *evalúas*). This vowel swap is the hallmark of the present subjunctive.

### Giving Advice and Expressing Possibility

You can use different adjectives in the **es... que** structure to give recommendations or state how likely an outcome is.

For advice:

{{item:781091}}

For probability and possibility:

{{item:781094}}

{{item:781103}}

For impossibilities:

{{item:781096}}

**Key Takeaway:** Whenever you state a priority, necessity, or probability using **es [adjective] que**, the following verb must be in the subjunctive mood.

Impersonal expressions (es... que)

adjective

adverb

auxiliary verb

conjunction

determiner

expression

interjection

noun

numeral

prep

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Definite articles and 'to be' (el, la, soy)

Masculine and feminine pairs (el hermano, la hermana)

Basic sentences and negation (no)

Indefinite articles (un, una)

Formal and informal you (tú vs. usted)

Plural pronouns and the verb to be (somos, son)

Making nouns plural (-s, -es)

Plural articles (los, las, unos, unas)

Noun gender exceptions

Adjective agreement

Invariable adjectives

State and location (estar)

Ser vs. estar

There is / there are (hay)

Hay vs. estar

To have (tener)

Possession (de)

Possessive adjectives (mi, tu, su)

Regular -ar verbs

Yes/No questions

What and who (qué, quién)

Regular -er verbs

Regular -ir verbs

Asking where (dónde, adónde)

How, when, and why (cómo, cuándo, por qué)

How much and how many (cuánto)

Days of the week

Going to a place (ir a)

Preposition contractions (al, del)

In and by (en)

With me and with you (conmigo, contigo)

Prepositional pronouns (mí, ti)

Conjunctions (y, o, pero)

Giving reasons (porque)

Stem-changing verbs (e to ie)

Stem-changing verbs (o to ue)

Stem-changing verbs (e to i)

Irregular yo forms (hago, salgo)

To know (saber vs. conocer)

Weather expressions (hace, está)

Desires and plans (querer)

Ability and requests (poder)

Obligations (tener que)

Expressing likes (me gusta)

Plural likes (me gustan)

Verbs like gustar (encantar, doler)

Very vs. a lot (muy, mucho)

Numbers 0 to 15 (cero, uno, dos…)

Numbers 16 to 31 (dieciséis, veinte…)

Numbers 30 to 1000 (treinta, cien, mil)

Months of the year (enero, febrero, marzo)

Seasons and dates (el dos de mayo)

Telling time (es la..., son las...)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (primero, segundo, tercero)

Reflexive pronouns and verbs (me, te, se, nos)

Direct object pronouns (lo, la, los, las)

The near future (ir a)

The present continuous (estar + -ando, -iendo)

Near demonstrative adjectives (este, esta, estos, estas)

Medium demonstrative adjectives (ese, esa, esos, esas)

Comparatives of inequality (más / menos ... que)

Comparatives of equality (tan ... como)

Indefinite and negative pronouns (algo, nada, alguien, nadie)

Affirmative commands

Far demonstratives (aquel, aquella)

Possessive pronouns (el mío, el tuyo)

Shortened indefinite adjectives (algún, ningún)

Adverbs of quantity (demasiado, bastante)

Adverbs of frequency (a menudo, a veces)

Adverb formation (-mente)

Exclamations (¡Qué...!)

Irregular comparatives (mejor, peor, mayor, menor)

Relative superlatives (el más... de)

Adjective intensification (-ísimo)

Indirect object pronouns

Pronoun placement with infinitives

Double object pronouns (me lo, te la)

The 'se lo' rule (se lo, se la)

Impersonal statements (se)

Impersonal obligation (hay que)

Personal obligation (deber)

Starting actions (empezar a)

Finishing and quitting actions (terminar de, dejar de)

Repeating actions (volver a)

Continuing actions (seguir + gerundio)

Question	Answer
fundamental / essential (foundational)	fundamental
to evaluate	evaluar
the proposal	la propuesta
It is fundamental that you evaluate the proposal.	Es fundamental que evalúes la propuesta.
advisable	aconsejable
the process	el proceso
immediately	inmediatamente
It is advisable that we begin the process immediately.	Es aconsejable que comencemos el proceso inmediatamente.
probable / likely	probable
the measure / the step	la medida
It is probable that he will approve the measure.	Es probable que él apruebe la medida.
impossible	imposible
It is impossible for us to finish the proposal today.	Es imposible que terminemos la propuesta hoy.
possible	posible
When the manager arrives, it is possible that he evaluates the process.	Cuando el gerente llega, es posible que evalúe el proceso.
It is fundamental that you read the contract.	Es fundamental que leas el contrato.
It is advisable that they read my proposal and yours.	Es aconsejable que lean mi propuesta y la tuya.
It is probable that I will start mine today.	Es probable que yo empiece el mío hoy.
It is impossible for the process to work well.	Es imposible que el proceso funcione bien.
It is possible that you arrive early, but I will have lunch ready.	Es posible que llegues temprano, pero tendré el almuerzo listo.
It is probable that she will not evaluate the budget today.	Es probable que ella no evalúe el presupuesto hoy.
It is important that you do the work immediately.	Es importante que ustedes hagan el trabajo inmediatamente.
It is fundamental that the government evaluates the measure.	Es fundamental que el gobierno evalúe la medida.
true / certain	cierto
It is true that she works a lot.	Es cierto que ella trabaja mucho.
It is true that the proposal is good.	Es cierto que la propuesta es buena.
pleasant, nice	agradable
It is pleasant to walk on the beach.	Es agradable caminar en la playa.
The afternoon is pleasant.	La tarde está agradable.