The Spanish present subjunctive: quiero que vengas, ojalá

Forms of the present subjunctive

You already know much of this from the usted commands in A2 (hable, haga, venga): those were subjunctive forms. The rest of the table is the same logic for every person.

The endings are the same for every verb, and the yo and él, ella, usted forms are identical (hable). Verbs with a yo form that is not regular keep that irregularity in every person: start from yo, not from the infinitive.

The subjunctive of tener is tenga, tengas, tenga, tengamos, tengan, and the other verbs follow it. Stem changes from the present stay too, with one twist: -ar and -er verbs do not change in nosotros, but -ir verbs do.

Some verbs change their spelling to keep the sound of the stem.

Six verbs are irregular and have to be learned. Note the written accent on dé (to tell it from the preposition de) and on esté, estés, estén. Haber appears here only as "there is": Ojalá haya sitio ("I hope there is room").

What is different from English

English hardly has a subjunctive, so you never meet a special verb form after "want". English uses an object plus "to": "I want you to come". Spanish has no such pattern, and it does not allow the word-for-word copy: Quiero que vengas, never *Quiero tú venir or *Quiero a ti venir. After "hope", English uses "will" or the plain present: "I hope you will come", but Spanish uses the present subjunctive, not the future: Espero que vengas.

English also looks the same in two different situations. "It's important that you are on time" and "I know that you are on time" both use "are", but in Spanish only the second keeps the indicative: Sé que estás a tiempo, Es importante que estés a tiempo. The trigger decides the mood, not the English verb.

Wishes: querer, esperar, preferir, necesitar

When the person who wants and the person who acts are different, use que and the subjunctive: Quiero que vengas, Espero que apruebes, Prefiero que hablemos mañana, Necesito que me ayudes. When it is the same person, there is no que and the verb stays in the infinitive: Quiero ir, Espero aprobar. Careful: yo and él, ella, usted look the same, so Quiero que vaya is correct and means that he, she or you go.

Ojalá (from Arabic, roughly "if God wills") means "I hope", "let's hope" or "if only", for things that are still possible. It is followed by the present subjunctive, with or without que: Ojalá haga buen tiempo, Ojalá que lleguen pronto. In standard Spanish it never takes the indicative (*Ojalá viene) or an infinitive.

Judgements and feelings

Expressions of value, such as es importante, es necesario, es mejor and es normal, take que and the subjunctive when someone is named: Es importante que los niños duerman bien. For a general statement with no one in mind, the infinitive follows: Es importante dormir bien.

Feelings about what someone else does or is work the same way: Me alegra que estés aquí, Me molesta que fumen aquí, Me encanta que cocines. If you are the one who feels and acts, use the infinitive: Me encanta cocinar.

A plain fact stays in the indicative. Sé que vienes and Veo que estás cansado state facts. Estoy contento porque vienes gives a reason, also in the indicative. Me alegra que vengas talks about your feeling toward the fact, so it takes the subjunctive. Doubt and purpose are a different topic.