Coffee Break Spanish - The subjunctive in Spanish - All you need to know to start using it | CBS Show 2.08

Episode Date: July 18, 2024

Ready to master the use of the subjunctive in Spanish? In this episode of the Coffee Break Spanish Show you will learn about using the present subjunctive conjugation and its common triggers.Prefer to watch these lessons? You can do exactly that for free on Coffee Break TV, and download the episodes to your device so you can access them on the go. Or, you can head to our Coffee Break Spanish YouTube channel to access the video version of each podcast episode there. Remember to subscribe to our channel so that you don’t miss an episode.That's not all... each episode of the Show is accompanied by a blog article to increase your understanding of the topics covered.➡️ Click the link to access the blog article and worksheet that accompany this lesson ⬅️ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to Coffee Break Spanish. Welcome back to the Coffee Break Spanish show. I'm Mark. And I'm Annabel. Anabel, how are you? I'm very well and with much of other episode. You, what do?

Super good. And very content of that you are going to be with me for this episode. Well, yeah. A very interesting episode. I don't know if you picked that up. I'm very content of that

you're going to be a special type of verb. This is a special type of verb. That's a special type of verb. about that later. These are weekly episodes which are helping you take your Spanish to the next level, one coffee break at a time. And if you are watching the video version, then remember to subscribe to our channel on YouTube. And if you are listening to the podcast version, then also subscribe wherever you are listening to. Well, you know, we know what we?

We're saying the subjunctive. Perfect. Well, we're going to do. Let me. I think the subjunctive, when we mention the subjunctive, I think this causes lots of concern for some learners. Yes, but we are going to start easy. We are going to do an introduction on the subjunctive and what it is. Okay. So first of all, we're talking about verbs and verbs typically have different tenses. But the subjunctive is not a tense. It is not. It's a moot. Yes. So it's not about what we say, but how we say that. Exactly. Yes. So give us some examples of situations. where we would use the subjunctive related to mood.

What kind of moods is it used for? So it's used for wishes, for doubt, for prohibition, also orders, and possibility or probability. Yeah. So all of these situations where normally in English we would just use the normal verb, but in Spanish we need to think a little differently about it. Yes, so is. In English, if we think about things very carefully, and if we're using really kind of correcting, English, if you like, then sometimes we do change our verbs ever so slightly. For example,

if I were to say something, then normally I would say, I was saying such and such. But if I were to say, that's a different type of verb. It's actually the English subjunctive. But in Spanish, it's used a little more regularly than that. It is, but the good news is that it is going to be triggered. So we are going to have these clues or these triggers that are going to let us know or to tell us that we are going to be using the subjunctive. And I always think of these little triggers, these kind of phrases or set expressions, that they literally ring alarm bells and you think, oh, a subjunctive is coming. Before we talk about when to use the subjunctive and these triggers, perhaps we should look at how to form the subjunctive. Okay, yes, sounds great. Yeah,

me per se bien. The present subjunctive? Yeah, yeah. Okay, so to form that, we are going to take the first person singular from the present tense in the indicative. Okay, so let's think about exactly what that means. If we go to the verb, Ablar, our famous verb, Ablar, to speak, we need to go to the present indicative, which is the normal present tense, as we've learned it, and the first person singular. So the yo form, the I form, which of course would be,

Ableo. Very bien, Ablo. So now that we have found, we are going to take away that O, and we have that root. And then we just add, the endings. And the endings are easy. Don't worry. Okay. So we take off the O and we're left with the root. And then we add some endings. And I think you might recognize some of these endings.

I also. So let's look at an a verb. Yeah, absolutely. And we're going to look at a blar in the present subjunctive. So go for it. So it's Able. Ables. Ables. Able. Ablemus. Ablays. Ablis. Abl. Ablis. Abl. Okay, so these sound very like the endings of a regular ER verb in the present indicative. So almost identical apart from that yo form, which is able. So it ends in the letter i, able, ables, able, ableses, ablemos, ablis, ablin.

Okay. So what happens with an ER verb? Let's take, I don't know, comer. Okay, so we say, I eat in the present tense, in the indicative, is como. Como. We take away that O and then we conjugate it. So the endings are comma,

comas, comma, comamos, comais, and coman. So again, that sounds very, very familiar. It's basically the same endings as AR verbs in the indicative, with the exception again of the joe form. So comma,

comas, coma, comamos, comais, coman. So, perfect. What about an IR verb? And this one, let's get one of the irregular ones. Okay, okay. So let's take Salir, for example. Salir, okay. How do we say, yo?

So, I salgo. So salgo, from Salir, we are going to take away that O and now conjugate it. So we've got SALG as our stem, having taken off that O, and we're going to conjugate it with endings. And these are going to be the same endings as the ER verb. aren't they? So, Salga, Salgas,

salga, salgamos, salgais, salgan. Perfect. If you're not used to this idea of six parts

of a verb, then we've got lots of other videos to help you with that and indeed our coffee break,

Spanish Season 1 course and podcast will help you get to grips with conjugating verbs

and how important it is to know these different parts and how by learning them in

this way it really helps you. And practice, practice and practice. Absolutely. Absolutely. Okay.

So, So basically what we're doing is going to the joe form of the present indicative, our normal present tense, looking at that, taking off the O in the end, and then adding subjunctive endings. The subjunctive endings are going to be S-E-S-E-E-E-E-E-Mos-E-E-S-N for the ER verbs. And then A-AS-A, amos-I-S-AN for the ER and IR verbs. So we basically like switch them. Yeah. Okay, okay. So let's maybe talk now about the triggers Because we're going to look at a couple of triggers in this episode

So there are like many triggers But we are going to be working slowly And let's work with the trigger, ohala. I quite like ohala And ohala is just to say that, oh I wish, I hope And it's just that arverb, just one word. Yeah, ohala, ohla It's got roots in Arabic, hasn't it?

Yes. So ohla, lots of words with AL in them in Spanish I have links to Arabic. So, ohalah, meaning I hope or if only or something like that. And then we just follow it with a subjunctive. Yes, so is an example. So one example here is, ohala, manana, salga el sol. Yeah.

Yes, yes, si, si, si, si, si, si, yeah. Ohala, manana, salga el sol. So there we've got salga, coming from salir. Yes, yes. We've got the ending coming off. So salgo, take off that O, and then add our ending. talking about el sol so third person singular Salga ohalla manana

shalla el sol please let the sun come out tomorrow or something like that so I hope or please or if only or something some kind of exhortation like that so just ohhalla and then ohhalla plus the subjunctive but there are other triggers let's see another one okay so this one is kizaz kizaz kizaz kizaz kizaz

a lovely song perhaps perhaps, perhaps, or maybe. So this is going to trigger the subjunctive most of the times. Yeah, okay. So give us an example then. So, quiz, manana, Able con my mother. Okay, so we've got Able.

We're talking about yo Able. Yes, yes. Because we've got my mother. So we know I am going to be talking to my mother, perhaps tomorrow. So perhaps tomorrow I'll talk to my mom. There is a future idea in English, but it's also, we don't. actually know if it's going to happen. And that's why, like, with Kithas, it triggers the subjunct because it's that doubt,

that wish, that probability that's good to happen. So there's a possibility there that it might happen, but there's also a possibility it might not happen. And that's the whole idea of perhaps, or maybe, I'll maybe talk to my mum tomorrow. But I'm trying to think of a situation where there's maybe, there's maybe doubt, but there's less doubt. Maybe we should take this as an example. What if I invite you to a party?

Vienes at a fiesta? Okay, so here I can say, Kizaz, Baja, or Kizaz boy. Now, that's interesting. So, Kizazaya. Baya is an irregular subjunctive, and we'll cover that in other lessons. But Baya is from Iir.

So what Annabelle is saying is, Kizas Baja, perhaps, I'll go. Perhaps I'll come. to be honest, I'm not 100% convinced that you're coming. You don't sound mega keen about coming to my party. Especially because I'm using the subjunct. So it's like, yeah, maybe I'll go, but... I don't think I'm going to see you at my party.

But if you wanted to say, yeah, I'll maybe come. Yeah, maybe come. So if she says boy from the verb year, still irregular, but that's the present indicative, then I am fairly certain that I am going to have a guest. that is Annabel at my party. So, kithas boy, using the indicative,

there's more likelihood that it's going to happen. Yes, yes. Kithas, I don't think I'm going to see it. No, maybe. Maybe I'm there, but it's not likely. Oh, halle,

don't know. Okay, so what is next for this episode? So let's practice a little bit, no? Very good. So we are going to translate a sentence from English into Spanish and we are going to see

one of these triggers and we are going to be using the subjective. Okay, we'll give you 10 seconds to think about this. Go for the first sentence. So the sentence is, I hope I can go on holiday this summer. Okay, now just one little thing. Don't translate I hope with a verb. I want you to translate it using a word that we've covered in this episode. Okay, so I hope or if only or I really, really hope, I can go on holiday this summer. 10 seconds. Okay, so I hope

I can go on holiday this summer. So I hope here we can say Ohalah. So ohla, Puidae do vacations this vera. So let's kind of break this up a little. We've got Puida.

That's from Poder. Poder, a radical changing verb, we see that O of the infinitive becoming U.E. So normally you would say Puedo, I can. But as we've done with all of our other subjunctives, we've taken

off the O at the end and added the alternative endings and it becomes Pueda. Ohela, puida, puida, I'll let you into a little secret how I've always translated, Ohla. I've always thought of it as fingers crossed.

Oh, no, yes. Because there's no verb in there. So fingers crossed, I can go on holiday this summer. Me Encaulta, no? Ohla. Okay, so your second phrase for translation is, perhaps they will arrive a bit late. And again, don't think about a future tense here. If you're, if you're used to using

the future, don't think about that. Think again about what we've been talking about in this episode. Perhaps they will arrive a bit late. Yes. So, Annabelle, help us with this one. So perhaps is, Kizaz. And then they will arrive a little bit late. So, so Jekin a little bit tard. So this Jekin is a little bit tard. So this Jegen is their subjunctive. So Jegen, being the subjunctive, means that there's a fair bit of doubt that they're going to arrive. And we're translating this, the will arrive with a present subjunctive.

One other thing to mention about that is Jegen has a little spelling change in there as well, doesn't it? That is. It's just to match up with the pronunciation. So for that g-sound, we need with an E, we need a U. So G-U-E, so J-E-E-N. So D-L-E-G-U-E-N. Otherwise it would be Yehyn, which sounds very odd. However, however, if it's probably quite likely that they're going to be arriving a little bit late. Well, then we used indicative.

So, Kizaz J-G-A-Tar-Tard. The fact is, I know how late they leave every time. So, Kitas J-S-M-A-R-E-S-M-S-M-E-S-M-E. You can also kind of like be polite, you know, and use the subjunctive, even though you know they are going to be late. I love it. So in this episode, we've talked about, first of all, what the concept of the subjunctive is. It's used for these specific situations.

It's a mood. It's not a tense. There are different tenses of the subjunctive. And we've been looking at the present tense today. We've looked at how it's formed. Yes, yes. With ER verbs, with ER verbs and I are verbs. And also some common irregulars as well, because we can always go back to that joke form of the indicative.

Yes, yes. We have also been looking at some triggers with key. with kizars, which is perhaps and ohhalla, which is fingers crossed. Okay, I think we'll round off there, but ohhalla, yeah, understandes mejor,

the juxtuio? I'm sure that we do indeed hope that you have now understood the subjunctive better and how it works. And if you'd like to see all of the examples that we've included in this lesson in our written blog article, then do check that out. There's a link in the

description for that. Excellent. And if you will like more help with your Spanish and would like to receive regular free email lessons, visit coffeebreaklanguages.com slash Spanish. Yeah, and one other thing, just to squeeze in here, if you would also like more help with your Spanish, you can also use our book, 50 Spanish coffee breaks, which is a selection of short activities to help you with your Spanish, split up into five-minute activities, 10-minute activities, and 15-minute activities. And you can find this in all good booksellers. Excellent.

Well, that is all. Yes, that is all for now. Muchismal, thanks, Mark, and thanks to you. Thanks, and until the next.

Happy Coffee Coffee Breaking.