Introduction
This
post is about verb conjugation and in particular the imperfect
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). It appears that someone phoned him. You are
speculating about who that person might be. At some point, the other
person says: "tell me, who was likely to call him?".
In
Spanish, the other person could choose to be less formal and say:
Dime,
¿quién era probable que lo llamase?
On the
other hand, he/ she could choose to be more formal and say:
Dígame,
¿quién era probable que lo llamase?
OUR
TIP
Consider
using a subjunctive mood if you want to indicate that your answer is
speculative/ not fact. Make sure that you conjugate your verbs
correctly. Remember that in some cases you will have to choose
between a more formal or a less formal option -see examples below.
Typical
answers could be:
Era
probable que lo llamase*
yo, ¿no? (it
was likely that I called him, wasn't it?);
Era
probable que lo llamases*
tú, ¿no? (it
was likely that you -familiar
called him, wasn't it?);
Era
probable que lo llamase*
usted, ¿no? (it
was likely that you -formal
called him,
wasn't it?);
Era
probable que lo llamase*
Pedro, ¿no? (it
was likely that Pedro called him, wasn't it?);
Era
probable que lo llamase*
María, ¿no? (it
was likely that María called him, wasn't it?);
Era
probable que lo llamásemos*
nosotros, ¿no? (it
was likely that we called him, wasn't it?);
Era
probable que lo llamaseis*
vosotros, ¿no? (it
was likely that you -familiar/
plural
called him, wasn't it?);
Era
probable que lo llamasen*
ustedes, ¿no? (it
was likely that you -formal/
plural
called him,
wasn't it?);
Era
probable que lo llamasen*
sus padres, ¿no? (it
was likely that his parents called him, wasn't it?);
Now you should
practise replying to someone who says to you:
Dime,
¿quién era probable que lo llamase?
*Please
see grammar topic below, Verbs
Verbs
A verb is a 'doing'
word which conveys:
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-Imperfect Tense
1.
Regular Verbs Ending in -ar
Subject
|
TRABAJAR
(TO
WORK)
|
| I |
Yo
|
TRABAJARA
o TRABAJASE
|
| You |
Tú
|
TRABAJARAS
o TRABAJASES
|
| You |
Usted* |
TRABAJARA
o TRABAJASE
|
| He |
Él |
| She |
Ella
|
| We |
Nosotros
|
TRABAJÁRAMOS
o TRABAJÁSEMOS
|
| You |
Vosotros**
|
TRABAJARAIS
o TRABAJASEIS
|
| You |
Ustedes***
|
TRABAJARAN
o TRABAJASEN
|
| 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
|
COMIERA
o COMIESE
|
| You |
Tú
|
COMIERAS
o COMIESES
|
| You |
Usted* |
COMIERA
o COMIESE
|
| He |
Él |
| She |
Ella
|
| We |
Nosotros
|
COMIÉRAMOS
o COMIÉSEMOS
|
| You |
Vosotros**
|
COMIERAIS
o COMIESEIS
|
| You |
Ustedes***
|
COMIERAN
o COMIESEN
|
| 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
|
VIVIERA
o VIVIESE
|
| You |
Tú
|
VIVIERAS
o VIVIESES
|
| You |
Usted* |
VIVIERA
o VIVIESE
|
| He |
Él |
| She |
Ella
|
| We |
Nosotros
|
VIVIÉRAMOS
o VIVIÉSEMOS
|
| You |
Vosotros**
|
VIVIERAIS
o VIVIESEIS
|
| You |
Ustedes***
|
VIVIERAN
o VIVIESEN
|
| 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:
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 imperfect-subjunctive mood
of regular verbs with some examples of your own.
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