In Spanish, the subjunctive is a verb mood used to express things like wishes, doubts, emotions, and hypothetical situations, rather than objective facts.
One of the most common ways to trigger the subjunctive is with the word ojalá.
| hopefully / I hope (that) | ojalá |
Ojalá expresses a strong hope or desire, translating closely to "hopefully" or "I hope (that)." Because it expresses a wish rather than stating a fact, it is almost always followed by the subjunctive.
To form the regular present subjunctive, take the yo form of the present tense, drop the final -o, and add the "opposite" endings.
- For -ar verbs, use endings with e.
- For -er and -ir verbs, use endings with a.
| Pronoun | -ar verbs (e.g., empeorar) | -er verbs (e.g., suceder) | -ir verbs (e.g., existir) |
|---|
| yo | empeore | suceda | exista |
| tú | empeores | sucedas | existas |
| él/ella/usted | empeore | suceda | exista |
| nosotros/as | empeoremos | sucedamos | existamos |
| vosotros/as | empeoréis | sucedáis | existáis |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | empeoren | sucedan | existan |
Examples with -ar verbs
Notice how regular -ar verbs like aceptar, empeorar, and cenar swap their usual a vowels for e vowels in the subjunctive.
Examples with -er verbs
Regular -er verbs like aprender and suceder swap their usual e vowels for a vowels.
Examples with -ir verbs
Regular -ir verbs share the exact same subjunctive endings as -er verbs. Verbs like descubrir, existir, and recibir all take a endings.
