Spanish present subjunctive: Regular -AR verbs – Episode 74

Spanish present subjunctive: Regular -AR verbs

Podcast episode 74 – SEE ALL EPISODES

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

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In today’s Spanish audio lesson I’m going to focus on how to build the present tense of regular -AR verbs in the subjunctive.

See also: Maria’s step-by-step Spanish courses.

And I’m also going to give you some easy tips that’ll help you remember the six forms easily.

A few days ago one of my subscribers posted a question about the subjunctive.

She wanted to know whether there are any tips and tricks that’ll help her come up with the six forms easily.

I gave her some practical tips with examples. And then I thought this would also be a great audio lesson.

In this audio lesson I’m going to focus on the regular -AR verbs. I’m going to use the verb COMPRAR, to buy, as a pattern for all other regular -AR verbs.

To master the present subjunctive easily, first make sure you know the six forms of the present indicative well.

Let’s review the present indicative quickly.

compro
compras
compra
compramos
compráis
compran

Say those six forms with me:

compro
compras
compra
compramos
compráis
compran

Now, let me tell you the six forms of the present subjunctive.

compre
compres
compre
compremos
compréis
compren

And once again:

compre
compres
compre
compremos
compréis
compren

Have you noticed how similar the present indicative and subjunctive are?

I believe that, by highlighting their similarities, you can master the Spanish tenses really fast.

That’s why we’re going to compare the present indicative and subjunctive.

To build the six forms of both the present indicative and subjunctive, first you drop the final -AR. What remains is the root or stem. In this case: C-O-M-P-R

Each of the twelve forms of the verb ‘comprar’ is going to have c-o-m-p-r plus its own ending.

For the person ‘yo’ the present indicative ends in ‘o’: compro.

And the present subjunctive ends in ‘e’: compre.

For the person ‘tú’ the present indicative ends in ‘as’: compras.

And the subjunctive in ‘es’: compres.

For the persons ‘él’, ‘ella’, ‘usted’ the indicative ends in ‘a’: compra.

And the subjunctive in ‘e’: compre.

For the persons ‘nosotros’, ‘nosotras’ the indicative ends in ‘amos’: compramos.

And the subjunctive in ‘emos’: compremos.

For the persons ‘vosotros’, ‘vosotras’ the indicative ends in ‘áis’: compráis.

And the subjunctive in ‘éis’: compréis.

For the persons ‘ellos’, ‘ellas’, ‘ustedes’ the indicative ends in ‘an’: compran.

And the subjunctive in ‘en’: compren.

So, let’s compare just those endings.

Notice that, in the indicative, the main vowel is ‘a’. Whereas, in the subjunctive, the main vowel is ‘e’.

I’m going to say the endings for each person in both tenses. First the indicative and then the subjunctive. Here they are:

o — e
a-s — e-s
a — e
a-m-o-s — e-m-o-s
á-i-s — e-i-s
a-n — e-n

Notice that, in the indicative, the first person ends in ‘o’, and the other five persons take an ‘a’:

compro
compras
compra
compramos
compráis
compran

In the subjunctive, all six persons take an ‘e’:

compre
compres
compre
compremos
compréis
compren

Notice also how the other letters after the ‘a’ and ‘e’ are identical in both tenses.

compras – compres
compramos – compremos
compráis – compréis
compran – compren

To finish this lesson, you’re going to do a speaking drill.

Can you tell me the six forms of the verb ‘comprar’ in the present subjunctive?

I’ll tell you each form after you. Say each form during the gaps:

compre
compres
compre
compremos
compréis
compren

In previous lessons, I’ve given you this great learning tip:

One of the fastest ways of mastering the Spanish verbs is by comparing verb groups and tenses.

In this audio lesson, I’ve covered only the -AR verbs. In my verb course, I also go through the -ER and -IR verbs.

And I compare the three groups, so you can see their similarities and differences. That’ll help you build all their forms right, and avoid basic mistakes.

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