CSG144

133

The Subjunctive Mood: The Present and the Present Perfect Subjunctive Tenses in Noun Clauses

Formation of the Present Sub|imctive

To conjugate the present subjunctive of most verbs, refer to the present indicative forms, and follow these steps:

• Drop the -o of the yo form as shown in the models canto, com-o, and recib-o.

• Add the corresponding endings for each person in the three conjugations, as follows:

cantar (to sing)	comer (to eat)	recibir (to receive)
can te can temos cantes canteis can te can ten	coma comamos comas comais coma comaii	reciba recibamos recibas recibais reciba reciban

Observe that:

• the first- and third-person singular present subjunctive forms have the same endings.

• -er and -ir regular verbs have the same endings.

Notę that this rule applies to most verbs. Yerbs with spelling chan ges in the present indicative preserve the spelling change in the present subjunctive. (Review the lists in Unit 1.)

• verbs ending in -ger and -gir change the g of the stem to j, keeping the j in the stem of the present subjunctive.

Escojo mi vestido en este catalogo. Quiero que tu escojas tus zapatos tambien.

Exijo mis derechos. Quiero que todos exijan sus derechos tambien.

I choose my dress from this catalog. I wantyou to choose your shoes, too.

I demand my ńghts. I want ev ery one to demand theirńghts, too.

recoger (to pick up)	exigir (to demand)
recoja recojamos recojas recojais recoja recojan	exija exijamos exijas exijais exija exijan

• verbs that end in -guir change gu to g in the present subjunctive.

extinguir (to extinguish)

extinga

extingas

extinga

extingamos

extingais

extingan

• verbs that end in -cer change the c to z in the yo form: convencer, conyenso.

El candidato no convence a los The candidate does not convince the workers.

trabajadores. La oposición duda que The opposition doubts that he convinces

conyenza a los maestros. the teachers.