This article explains how to form the Spanish imperfect subjunctive and gives examples of when it is used.
Firstly, it should be said that there are two forms of the imperfect subjunctive in Spanish. They are interchangeable and used identically. In this article only one form (set of endings) is mentioned.
Secondly, to form this tense do the following:
1. Take the third person plural of the verb in the preterite tense (the ellos, ellas, ustedes form)
2. Remove the -on and replace it with -a
3. Begin conjugating again, using the new yo form, and adding the personal endings.
Using hablar (to speak, to talk) as an example, here is the process in action:
Third personal plural preterite of hablar = hablaron. Remove the -on and you are left with hablar-. Add -a. This creates the first person conjugation - hablara. Then continue with the personal endings (which are the same as the present tense endings of an -ar ending verb, with the exception of the accent in the second person plural being removed and an accent added in the first person plural for pronunciation purposes).
Thus:
hablara, hablaras, hablara, habláramos, hablarais, hablaran
The process is the same for verbs endings in -er and -ir. Using comer (to eat) as our example, let's run through the process again:
Third person plural preterite of comer = comieron. Remove the -on and you are left with comier-. Add -a. Thus the first person is now comiera. Continue conjugating (comieras, comiera, comiéramos, comierais, comieran).
Finally, the imperfect subjunctive is used in subordinate clauses when the principal verb (or, verb in the independent clause) is in the past. For example,
We could put the principal verb into another past tense, i.e., the imperfect:
The imperfect subjunctive can also follow the conditional tense, as in this example:
Firstly, it should be said that there are two forms of the imperfect subjunctive in Spanish. They are interchangeable and used identically. In this article only one form (set of endings) is mentioned.
Secondly, to form this tense do the following:
1. Take the third person plural of the verb in the preterite tense (the ellos, ellas, ustedes form)
2. Remove the -on and replace it with -a
3. Begin conjugating again, using the new yo form, and adding the personal endings.
Using hablar (to speak, to talk) as an example, here is the process in action:
Third personal plural preterite of hablar = hablaron. Remove the -on and you are left with hablar-. Add -a. This creates the first person conjugation - hablara. Then continue with the personal endings (which are the same as the present tense endings of an -ar ending verb, with the exception of the accent in the second person plural being removed and an accent added in the first person plural for pronunciation purposes).
Thus:
hablara, hablaras, hablara, habláramos, hablarais, hablaran
The process is the same for verbs endings in -er and -ir. Using comer (to eat) as our example, let's run through the process again:
Third person plural preterite of comer = comieron. Remove the -on and you are left with comier-. Add -a. Thus the first person is now comiera. Continue conjugating (comieras, comiera, comiéramos, comierais, comieran).
Finally, the imperfect subjunctive is used in subordinate clauses when the principal verb (or, verb in the independent clause) is in the past. For example,
John asked me to give him the keysJuan me pidió que le diera las llavesThe principal verb is in the preterite, thus the imperfect subjunctive is used in the subordinate clause, which is answering the question of what? What did John ask for? Answer: that I give him the keys.
We could put the principal verb into another past tense, i.e., the imperfect:
I didn't believe she would comeNo creía que ella vinieraNote, we could equally have used the preterite instead of the imperfect for the principal verb in the above example because whichever one we choose has no impact on having to follow it by an imperfect subjunctive (or a pluperfect subjunctive). This is to do with "temporal logic", meaning that if the main verb is in any past tense, what you cannot follow it by is either the present or perfect subjunctive because the action would be in a time frame that is impossible from the temporal aspect of the main verb, in other words, you could not tell someone to have already done something!
The imperfect subjunctive can also follow the conditional tense, as in this example:
The best thing would be if we were to create a link with the FoundationLo mejor sería que creáramos un enlace con la FundaciónIf you wanted, you could say instead,
The best thing will be that we create a link with the FoundationLo mejor será que creemos un enlace con la FundaciónThis changes the principal verb from the conditional to the future and the verb in the subordinate clause from the imperfect subjunctive to the present subjunctive.
Vanessa J Alexander is an accomplished Spanish and French tutor
and teaches both face-to-face and live over the Internet. With effective
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you too can become proficient in these popular and widely-spoken
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