Wishes with a new subject

What you will practice

• Use the present subjunctive after quiero que and espero que when the subject changes.
• Use the infinitive when the subject stays the same, as in quiero venir.
• Form hable, coma, viva, tenga, sea, and vaya.

Explanation

A different subject

After quiero que and espero que, use the present subjunctive when the second person is not the one who wants or hopes. Quiero que Ana hable means I want Ana to speak. I am the subject of quiero, and Ana is the subject of hable. Espero que tengas tiempo hopes the informal listener has time. Indicative habla and tienes do not fit here once the subject changes. Doubt, feelings, and other conjunctions are outside this lesson.

Forms to memorize

For a regular verb, the present subjunctive switches the theme vowel. hablar takes hable, hables, hable, hablemos, hablen. comer takes coma, and vivir takes viva, with the same style of ending: comas, coma, comamos, coman, and vivas, viva, vivamos, vivan. Formal usted uses the same form as yo and él, so it is hable, not hables. Three irregulars are memorized whole: tener gives tenga, ser gives sea, and ir gives vaya. The table shows that shared yo and él form.

The same subject

When the subject stays the same, use the infinitive and do not add que. Quiero venir means I want to come. Quiero hablar means I want to speak. Quiero que hablar is not a sentence. This lesson does not use quiero que yo hable for that meaning. A real change of subject looks like Quiero que Ana vaya: I want Ana to go. Same person, infinitive. Another person, present subjunctive. hable has no accent. Accented hablé is the completed past.

Examples

1. Quiero que Ana hable.I want Ana to speak.
2. Quiero venir.I want to come.
3. Espero que comas.I hope you eat.
4. Espero que tengas tiempo.I hope you have time.
5. Quiero que Ana vaya.I want Ana to go.

Common mistakes

• usted takes hable, coma, viva, tenga, sea, or vaya. The -s form is for tú only.
• Do not accent hable. hablé is the yo completed past of hablar.