This document discusses the present subjunctive tense in Spanish. It begins by explaining that the subjunctive is another way of expressing verbs in Spanish and is used in similar contexts as in English, such as in adverbial clauses expressing the future. It then provides a step-by-step process for forming the present subjunctive in Spanish verbs, noting there are 10 different forms. Finally, it discusses the use of indirect object pronouns in Spanish and another use of "se" to express accidental or unplanned occurrences.

1. The Present Subjunctive – Indirect
Objects and More Fun with “Se”
E. SIler

2. The Subjunctive
• So far, all the verb tenses we’ve looked at in Spanish
have been in the most commonly used paradigm of
verbs: the indicative.
• The subjunctive is another way of expressing verbs in
Spanish.
• All Romance language and English have subjunctive
structures.
• English, however, doesn’t use them in quite the same
way as they are used in Romance languages.
• And in English they do not look like a radically different
paradigm of verbs because the endings are often the
same as the ones for the indicative.

3. The Subjunctive in English
• One way that we use the subjunctive in
English is to express the future in some
adverbial clauses.
• When he gets here, I will speak with him.
• Here we have a subordinate adverbial clause
that is expressing something that will happen
in the future (the getting here).
• But instead of using “will” or “be going to” we
use the present tense form (gets) as well.

4. Try a Different Perspective
• This English use of the present tense form to express a
future idea is very confusing for students from
language backgrounds in the Romance languages.
• ESL students from these languages instinctively want to
express these clauses in the future.
• They make mistakes such as:
• When he will get here, I will speak with him.
• They make this mistake because in THEIR
languages, these grammatical situations are covered by
a form that is visibly different than the future: the
subjunctive.

5. The Present Subjunctive in Spanish
• Spanish uses the subjunctive in places that are much like where we use it
in English --- but it looks different from the present tense of Spanish.
• The subjunctive is formed by this seemingly simple formula:
– First, form the stem of the subjunctive verb:
– A. Go to the “yo” form of any present tense verb in the indicative.
– B. Remove the “o” ending and any following vowels.
– Second, add the correct ending to the stem:
– C. Use the stem to form the subjunctive by adding what are called the
REVERSE endings.
– The endings used in present tense (ar) verbs in the indicative are used on (
ir/er) verbs in the subjunctive.
– The endings used in present tense ( ir/er ) verbs in the indicative are used with
the (ar) verbs in the subjunctive.
– In all cases the “yo” form in the subjunctive will be the same form as the third
person singular in the subjunctive.

6. Step 1
A. Find the “yo” form.
• “Yo” forms are often not regular in Spanish!
• In some cases they are:
• Caminar > yo camino; hablar > yo hablo; vivir >
yo vivo; comer > yo como.
• But look at all these common irregular forms:
• Hacer > yo hago; tener > yo tengo; venir > yo
vengo; dar > yo doy . . .and SO MANY OTHERS!

7. Step 2
B. Remove the “o” ending and any following
vowels.
• This, fortunately, is fairly straightforward:
• Caminar > yo camino; hablar > yo hablo; vivir
> yo vivo; comer > yo como.
• Hacer > yo hago; tener > yo tengo; venir >
yo vengo; dar > yo doy . .

8. Step 3
• If the verb is an (ar) verb, add the endings that
would be used with (er/ir) verbs in the
indicative. Hablar > stem: habl
Person Singular Plural
First Yo hable Nosotros hablemos
Second Tú hables/ usted Ustedes hablen
hable
Third él/ella hable Ellos/ellas hablen

9. Step 3b
• If the verb is an (ir/er) verb, use the endings
that would normally be used with the (ar)
verbs in the indicative. Venir > Stem: veng
Person Singular Plural
First Yo venga Nosotros vengamos
Second Tú vengas/ Usted Ustedes vengan
venga
Third él/Ella venga Ellos/ellas vengan

10. The Problem: 10 Forms!
• Venir – Indicative Venir - Subjunctive
• Yo – vengo venga
• Tú vienes vengas
• Él/Ella/Usted – viene venga
• Nosotros – venimos vengamos
• Ellos/Ellas/Uds -
– Vienen vengan

11. The Subjunctive Interpreted
• The subjunctive is best thought of as just a
variant of the present.
• In some cases it will translate well as the
future or a slightly nuanced “possibility”.
• In most, however, you can safely get away
with translating into the present.

12. Example
• Yo quiero que tu entiendas. (I want that
you understand . . . I want you to understand).
• Yo lo haga para que el tenga éxito. (I do it
so that he will succeed/ succeeds).
• There are a few irregular subjunctives. The
most important of these is the subjunctive
form of “ser” --- which must be memorized.
• For more on the subjunctive see pp. 82-92 in
the grammar.

13. Indirect Object Pronouns
• In addition to the direct object pronouns
previously studied, Spanish also has indirect
object pronouns.

14. The Indirect Object in English
• The indirect object is a noun phrase (either a
noun or a pronoun) that comes after the verb
and can generally be paraphrased by “to X” or
“for X.”
• Note: the paraphrase is not an indirect object
--- but the phrase that can be paraphrased is
the indirect object!

15. English Examples
• The indirect objects are underlined. The
paraphrases are in brackets.
• He told me the truth > He told the truth [to
me].
• I gave my husband the cat for Christmas > I
gave the cat [to my husband] for Christmas.
• We did the police a great favor > We did a
great favor [for the police].

16. English Notes
• Not every verb in English can “take” an
indirect object.
• But if a verb can “take” an indirect object, the
indirect object can usually be substituted with
an object pronoun.
• I gave my husband the cat for Christmas > I
gave him the cat for Christmas.
• We did the police a great favor > We did them
a great favor.

17. The Indirect Object in Spanish
• Spanish also takes indirect objects with some
verbs.
• And as in English, the indirect object can often be
paraphrased by “to/ a ” or “for/ para.”
• And also as in English, it is possible to use
indirect object pronouns.
• The Spanish indirect object pronouns are
practically identical to the direct object
pronouns, with the exception of those in the third
person/usted/ustedes.

18. Spanish Indirect Object Pronouns
Person Singular Plural
First Me (to/for me) Nos (to us/for us)
Second Te (to/for you)/ le (to/for Les (to/for you plural)
you formal)
Third Le (to/for him/her) Les (to/for them)

19. More on Indirect Objects
• Indirect object pronouns in Spanish generally
come before the first verb in the verb phrase.
• If there is also a direct object pronoun, the
indirect comes before that.
• El hombre me dio el gato. (The man gave [to]
me the cat).
• El hombre me lo dio. (The man gave [to me]
it).

20. Indirect Objects 2
• If a verb phrase ends in an –ing participle or
an infinitive, the indirect object pronoun (just
as the direct object) can hang off the end of
the participle or infinitive.
• Él quiere hacerme el favor/ Él me quiere hacer
el favor (He wants to do [for] me the favor).
• Ella me está dando galletas/ Ella está
dándome galletas (She is giving [to]me
cookies).

21. Mixed Pronouns
• Just as in English we can have both a direct
object and an indirect object pronoun in a
sentence, we can also do that in Spanish.
• English: He gave me it.
• Spanish: Él me lo dio.
• HOWEVER, and yes, here it comes . . .

22. SE AGAIN
• When the direct object pronoun is third
person and the indirect object pronoun is also
third person, the indirect object pronoun
turns into “se.”
• He gave her it. Él se lo dio.
• He wants to give her it. Él se lo quiere dar / Él
quiere dárselo.

23. More on The Indirect Object
• If you have a burning desire to read more
about it, see pp. 123 – 129 in the grammar.

24. More on Se
• Thought for the day: Will this ever end?
• Answer: no.
• There are still MORE uses of “se” you should
be aware of.

25. Another Use: Accidents/Unplanned
Occurrences
• Remember this sentence from Paragraph 2?
• Las provisiones se les agotaron.
• This is a very unusual use of “se” (and note
the indirect object pronoun).
• The absolute best translation would be:
• They exhausted the supplies.

26. How This Structure Works
• Condition: You must want to express an accidental or unplanned
occurrence.
• First, think of the object: their supplies.
• The verb in this situation is going to agree with the object in
Spanish.
• Las provisiones agotaron. (Object can come before or after verb ---
in this case it comes before.)
• Second, add “se” to show that this was something that it was
accidental or unplanned.
• Las provisiones se agotaron.
• Third, add the indirect object pronoun to show who was involved in
the experience. Effectively the INDIRECT OBJECT PRONOUN
becomes the “agent” of the verb – the one who “does” the verb.
• Las provisiones se les agotaron.

27. Think About Mitt Romney’s Dog
• He went on vacation and when his wife realized
he’d left the dog on the roof of his car he
probably would have said to her: “Se me olvidó
el perro.”
• See how a person can get out of accepting
responsibility for the action?
• This unplanned/accidental/mostly unfortunate
thing happened (the dog being forgotten on the
roof of the car) and I was there ( but I was not
culpable) but it was an accident.

28. In a very real sense
• This meaning of “se” basically carries the
meaning of “s**t happens” and someone was
there.
• In English, we translate it though to show the
indirect object is the subject-agent of the
verb: I forgot the dog.
• As an occasional legal translator, I want to
point out that this is a very hard structure to
get across to judges.

29. Another Use of Se
• “Se” can also sometimes be translated as “it”
or even “one” or casually “they” --- especially
in phrases that have to do with speaking or
telling something.
• Se dice que ella es muy buena profesora.
• It is said that she is a really good professor.
• One says that . . .
• They say that . . .

30. And a final use of “se”
• Sometimes “se” can be added to a verb to give it
an intensified, somewhat nuanced, meaning.
• Note the difference in these two sentences:
• Mi nieta comió la comida. (My granddaughter
ate the food).
• Mi nieta se comió la comida. (My granddaughter
ate up the food).
• Think about it: In which of these sentences
does my granddaughter come across as being
more hungry?