Love-Spanish.com: Tell Me, Who Is Likely To Call Him?

Introduction

This post is about verb conjugation and in particular the present tense, subjunctive mood of regular verbs ending in -ar.

SCENARIO

Imagine you are talking to a relative, a friend or a colleague about a third person (male) who needs someone to call him. Talking about who will probably call him, the other person says: "tell me, who is likely to call him?".

In Spanish, the other person could choose to be less formal and say:

Dime, ¿quién es probable que lo llame?

On the other hand, he/ she could choose to be more formal and say:

Dígame, ¿quién es probable que lo llame?

OUR TIP

Answering the question is quite straightforward. However, please note that some answers require you to choose between a more formal or a less formal option -see examples below:

Es probable que lo llame* yo (it is likely that I will call him);
Es probable que lo llames* tú, ¿no? (it is likely that you -familiar will call him, isn't it?);
Es probable que lo llame* usted, ¿no? (it is likely that you -formal will call him, isn't it?);
Es probable que lo llame* Pedro, ¿no? (it is likely that Pedro will call him, isn't it?);
Es probable que lo llame* María, ¿no? (it is likely that María will call him, isn't it?);
Es probable que lo llamemos* nosotros, ¿no? (it is likely that we will call him, isn't it?);
Es probable que lo llaméis* vosotros, ¿no? (it is likely that you -familiar/ plural will call him, isn't it?);
Es probable que lo llamen* ustedes, ¿no? (it is likely that you -formal/ plural will call him, isn't it?);
Es probable que lo llamen* sus padres, ¿no? (it is likely that his parents will call him, isn't it?);

Now you should practise replying to someone who says to you:

Dime, ¿quién es probable que lo llame?

*Please see grammar topic below, Verbs

Verbs

A verb is a 'doing' word which conveys:

What action takes place in a sentence
Who does that action
When that action occurs.

In addition, the verb may also convey the mood or feelings of the speaker toward the action which takes place. The verb may, for example, indicate whether the speaker is stating a fact, expressing a wish or indeed giving an order.

Verb Conjugation

Please see notes on conjugation* at the end of this post.

Subjunctive Mood-Present Tense

1. Regular Verbs Ending in -ar

Subject		TRABAJAR (TO WORK)
I	Yo	TRABAJE
You	Tú	TRABAJES
You	Usted^*	TRABAJE
He	Él
She	Ella
We	Nosotros	TRABAJEMOS
You	Vosotros**	TRABAJÉIS
You	Ustedes***	TRABAJEN
They	Ellos
They	Ellas

*NB More courteous/ polite form of 'you'

**NB 'You' plural

*** NB More courteous/ polite form of 'you' plural

2. Regular Verbs Ending in -er

Subject		COMER (TO EAT)
I	Yo	COMA
You	Tú	COMAS
You	Usted^*	COMA
He	Él
She	Ella
We	Nosotros	COMAMOS
You	Vosotros**	COMÁIS
You	Ustedes***	COMAN
They	Ellos
They	Ellas

*NB More courteous/ polite form of 'you'

**NB 'You' plural

*** NB More courteous/ polite form of 'you' plural

3. Regular Verbs Ending in -ir

Subject		VIVIR (TO LIVE)
I	Yo	VIVA
You	Tú	VIVAS
You	Usted^*	VIVA
He	Él
She	Ella
We	Nosotros	VIVAMOS
You	Vosotros**	VIVÁIS
You	Ustedes***	VIVAN
They	Ellos
They	Ellas

*NB More courteous/ polite form of 'you'

**NB 'You' plural

*** NB More courteous/ polite form of 'you' plural

* Verb Conjugation Notes

It is worth remembering once more that in its basic form (infinitive), a Spanish verb is just a general 'doing' word. In that form, a verb simply indicates an action and nothing else. If we want a verb to be more specific about the action in a sentence, we need to conjugate it. It is only when conjugated that the verb indicates:

Who does the action
When the action takes place
The mood/ attitude of the speaker towards the action

The conjugation tables above refer to using conjugation establish who does the action. What follows below are some notes on establishing when the action takes place and the mood/ attitude of the speaker towards the action.

Subjunctive Mood

The use of subjunctive mood is disappearing English. Nowadays is often viewed as an old and unfashionable form of the language.

In contrast, the use of subjunctive mood is very much alive and in everyday use in Spanish. This widespread use of subjunctive mood tends to be the bane of many a learner of Spanish from the English speaking world.

The concept of subjunctive mood is perhaps best illustrated by contrasting its use against the use of indicative mood with examples in English. The following are a couple of examples which should serve that purpose:

Indicative mood (“Peter eats an apple”).- Indicative mood is commonly used to make statements of facts or positive beliefs such as this one. As can be seen in the sample sentence (in quotes above), the speaker makes a clear and unambiguous statement of a fact (Peter eats an apple).
Subjunctive mood (“Peter would eat an apple if he were hungry”).- In contrast with indicative mood, subjunctive mood is commonly used to make statements indicating hypothetical or non-fact actions. As can be seen in the sample sentence (in quotes), in this case the speaker sees the action of eating an apple as something hypothetical, something which may or may not happen (Peter would eat an apple... if he were hungry).

Verb Tenses

Verb tenses relate to setting the time period (when) during which the action of the verb takes place. Basic times (periods) for Spanish verb actions are:

The past (before now)
The present (now)
The future (after now)

Each Spanish verb tense corresponds to one of those basic time periods. In other words choosing a verb tense places the action of the verb in one of those basic periods and determines when the action takes place.

Now you should practise the use of the present-subjunctive mood of regular verbs with some examples of your own.

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Sunday 13 April 2014

Tell Me, Who Is Likely To Call Him?

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