¡Hola, amigos! Get ready to dive headfirst into the thrilling world of the Spanish subjunctive! Did you know that Spanish doesn’t have a specific tense for the simple past in the subjunctive mood? Instead, we must use two alternatives: the imperfect past and the compound present!
In this post, we’ll shine a spotlight on the incredibly dynamic and versatile imperfect past of the subjunctive mood! This tense is used in a variety of scenarios:
1. To express past wishes, commands, suggestions, opinions, etc. This usually goes after a verb that works as a subjunctive trigger:
I wanted you to attend my work presentation last Thursday.
(Yo) quería que (tú) asistieras a mi presentación del trabajo el jueves pasado.
2. With Ojalá (I wish). To express a wish for something that is not taking place right know:
I wish I had a cat.
Ojalá yo tuviera un gato.
3. In conditional sentences.To express a hypothetical situation about the present:
If I had a cat right now, I would be happy
Si yo tuviera un gato ahora mismo, sería feliz.
4. After the structure fue/era + adjectivo + que (it was + adjective + that):
It was important that they arrive early every day.
Era importante que ellos llegaran temprano todos los días.
CONJUGATION
I know you’re wondering about the conjugation. It might seem challenging! However, I’ve found a great trick to make it as easy as pie! Look at this:
1. Take the ellos form of the simple past (indicative):
(ellos) hablaron
2. Remove the ron ending:
habla
3. Add the appropriate endings. They are the same for ar, er and ir verbs.
Listen to Dante, from Spain:
| Person | Verb |
|---|---|
| yo | habla + ra |
| tú | habla + ras |
| usted | habla + ra |
| él ella | habla + ra |
| nosotros nosotras | hablá + ramos |
| ustedes | habla + ran |
| ellos ellas | habla + ran |
| vos | habla + ras |
| vosotros vosotras | habla + rais |
This works even with irregular verbs. Isn’t it great?
Now, let’s play these games so you become an expert conjugating this tense:
GAME 1
GAME 2
