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### 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 |

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### 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!

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### 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*).

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Irregular imperfect subjunctive (tuviera, fuera...)

adjective

adverb

auxiliary verb

conjunction

determiner

expression

interjection

noun

numeral

prep

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Subject pronouns and the verb to be (yo soy)

Noun gender and definite articles (el, la)

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
dragon	el dragón
I wish I had a very fast dragon.	Ojalá tuviera un dragón rapidísimo.
spell	el hechizo
invisible	invisible
I wish the spell made me invisible.	Ojalá el hechizo me hiciera invisible.
genie	el genio
to grant	conceder
wish	el deseo
I wish the genie could grant my wish.	Ojalá el genio pudiera conceder mi deseo.
fairy	el hada
wand	la varita
magical	mágico
I wish the fairy had a magical wand.	Ojalá el hada tuviera una varita mágica.
potion	la poción
Where could the potion be? I wish I were invisible.	¿Dónde estará la poción? Ojalá yo fuera invisible.
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 genie made a potion.	Ojalá el genio hiciera una poción.
I wish I could grant wishes.	Ojalá yo pudiera conceder deseos.
I wish the fairy came to the huge castle!	¡Ojalá el hada viniera al castillo grandísimo!
The castle was very beautiful. I wish it were close.	El castillo fue hermosísimo. Ojalá estuviera cerca.
She went to the forest. I wish she brought the magical wand!	Ella fue al bosque. ¡Ojalá trajera la varita mágica!