Reacting with the Subjunctive
In Spanish, when you express an emotion, feeling, or reaction about what someone else is doing, you must use a special verb form for that second action, called the subjunctive mood.
You will typically use this structure: Emotion/Reaction + que + Subjunctive verb
| It excites me that you sing that song. | Me emociona que tú cantes esa canción. |
Forming the Present Subjunctive
For regular verbs, forming the present subjunctive is like swapping the vowels. You start with the present-tense yo form, drop the -o, and add the "opposite" endings:
- -ar verbs take -e endings (-e, -es, -e, -emos, -en)
- -er and -ir verbs take -a endings (-a, -as, -a, -amos, -an)
| Pronoun | -ar Verbs (e.g., pintar) | -er/-ir Verbs (e.g., vivir) |
|---|---|---|
| yo, él/ella, usted | -e (pinte) | -a (viva) |
| tú | -es (pintes) | -as (vivas) |
| nosotros/as | -emos (pintemos) | -amos (vivamos) |
| ellos/ellas, ustedes | -en (pinten) | -an (vivan) |
| It fascinates me that you paint so well. | Me fascina que tú pintes tan bien. |
| It amazes us that they live in the forest. | Nos asombra que ellos vivan en el bosque. |
Verbs of Emotion
Many verbs of emotion work just like the verb gustar—they use an indirect object pronoun (me, te, le, nos, les) to show who is feeling the emotion. When followed by que and a new subject, the following verb is in the subjunctive.
| It angers me that the boy doesn't listen. | Me enoja que el niño no escuche. |
| It frustrates him that you don't answer the message. | Le frustra que tú no respondas el mensaje. |
| It disappoints me that he doesn't work with you. | Me decepciona que él no trabaje contigo. |
Impersonal Reactions
You also use the subjunctive after impersonal expressions that state an emotional reaction, judgment, or opinion, such as es una lástima (it's a pity) or es injusto (it's unfair).
| It is a pity that she doesn't understand the problem. | Es una lástima que ella no comprenda el problema. |
| It is unfair that you buy the food. | Es injusto que tú compres la comida. |
| It makes me sad that they are selling the house. | Me da pena que ellos vendan la casa. |