Irregular Stems in the Imperfect Subjunctive
The rule for forming the imperfect subjunctive remains exactly the same for irregular verbs: take the ellos/ellas/ustedes form of the preterite, drop the -ron, and add the -ra endings.
Because these verbs have irregular preterite forms, their imperfect subjunctive forms use those same irregular stems.
| Verb | Preterite (ellos) | Imperfect Subjunctive (yo/él/ella) |
|---|---|---|
| tener | tuvieron | tuviera |
| ser / ir | fueron | fuera |
| hacer | hicieron | hiciera |
| poder | pudieron | pudiera |
| I wish I had a very fast dragon. | Ojalá tuviera un dragón rapidísimo. |
| Where could the potion be? I wish I were invisible. | ¿Dónde estará la poción? Ojalá yo fuera invisible. |
Unlikely Wishes with "Ojalá"
When paired with ojalá, the imperfect subjunctive expresses an unlikely or impossible wish about the present. In English, this translates to "I wish..." followed by a past tense verb (like "I wish I had" or "I wish I were"). Let's look at some magical examples!
| I wish the spell made me invisible. | Ojalá el hechizo me hiciera invisible. |
| I wish the genie could grant my wish. | Ojalá el genio pudiera conceder mi deseo. |
More Common Irregulars
Other verbs with highly irregular preterite stems follow the exact same pattern, such as estar (estuvieron → estuviera), saber (supieron → supiera), venir (vinieron → viniera), and traer (trajeron → trajera).
| I wish the magical dragon were here! | ¡Ojalá el dragón mágico estuviera aquí! |
| Could the wand be damaged? I wish I knew the spell. | ¿Estará dañada la varita? Ojalá supiera el hechizo. |
| I wish the fairy came to the huge castle! | ¡Ojalá el hada viniera al castillo grandísimo! |