Since there is rarely an equivalent of the subjunctive in English, this grammatical mood can be extremely difficult for English speakers to understand. For this reason, the Yabla Spanish archive contains many lessons that deal with the plethora of scenarios in which the subjunctive is used in Spanish, and this lesson will address one more: the use of the subjunctive to describe either things we hope exist or things that definitely do not. 

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Using the Subjunctive for Things We Hope Exist

If we are "looking for," "seeking," "desiring," "needing" or "wanting" something or someone with certain characteristics but are not sure whether or not that person or thing exists, a subjunctive verb form should be utilized in Spanish. Let's see an example from the Yabla Spanish video library:

Por eso es que nosotros por lo regular buscamos trabajos que paguen a la semana,

That is why we usually look for jobs that pay weekly

Caption 35, La Banda Chilanguense El habla de México - Part 3

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On the other hand, if the person or thing does exist, for example, we actually have a job that pays weekly, we should use an indicative verb form, as we see here:

Por eso es que nosotros por lo regular tenemos trabajos que pagan a la semana,

That is why we usually have jobs that pay weekly,

A typical formula for this usage involves some type of "seeking" or "wishing" verb or phrase plus the conjunction que plus a verb conjugated in the subjunctive. Let's look at examples of such "wishful" words and phrases. Note that the personal a is included when what is sought or hoped for is a person:

Wishful Verbs and Phrases:

Querer (a): to want

Buscar (a): to look for

Necesitar (a): to need

Desear (a): to desire/wish for

Querer encontrar (a): to want to find

Esperar encontrar (a): to hope to find 

We can see many instances of the aforementioned construction in the video La Doctora Consejos: Subjuntivo y la persona ideal (Doctor Advice: Subjunctive and the Ideal Person). First, let's see an excerpt where the Doctor uses the indicative to describe a person who actually does exist:

In contrast, her patient employs the subjunctive in a similar sentence that describes the hypothetical person he seeks:

Es que yo busco a alguien que sea un poco más joven.

It's just that I'm looking for someone who's a bit younger.

Caption 76, El Aula Azul La Doctora Consejos: Subjuntivo y persona ideal

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Note that this subjunctive formula can be frequently found in want ads since their very nature is to seek desired entities. Let's take a look at a couple of examples:

Se buscan cajeros que puedan trabajar el turno de la tarde.

Cashiers wanted who can work the afternoon shift. 

Necesitamos a una persona que sea bilingüe.

We need a person who is bilingual. 

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Using the Subjunctive for Things That Don't Exist 

Verbs that describe nonexistent people or things should also be conjugated in the subjunctive. The formula in this case includes some phrase that indicates nonexistence such as no hay nadie que (there's no one that), no hay nada que (there's nothing that) and no existe... (...doesn't exist) plus the conjunction que plus a verb in the subjunctive. Let's hear these in context:

No hay ninguna experiencia que sea cien por cien mala

There's no experience that's one hundred percent bad

Captions 69-70, Soledad El insomnio - Part 2

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No existe persona en el mundo que rechace una propuesta de Aldo Sirenio.

There isn't a person in this world who refuses an offer from Aldo Sirenio.

Caption 45, Yago 5 La ciudad - Part 8

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That's all for today. We hope that this lesson has clarified the use the Spanish subjunctive to describe things we hope exist or definitely don't... and don't forget to write us with your feedback.

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To start this lesson, let's take a look at a couple of very similar sentences with the Spanish word cuando (when) plus the verb ir (to go) where one is conjugated in the present indicative and the other in the present subjunctive:

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Present Indicative:

Cuando voy a Barcelona, voy a la playa mucho. 

When I go to Barcelona, I go to the beach a lot.

Present Subjunctive:

Cuando vaya a Barcelona, pienso ir a la playa mucho. 

When I go to Barcelona, I plan to go to the beach a lot. 

Although the translation is the same for both Cuando voy and Cuando vaya (When I go), in the second Spanish sentence, the verb ir is conjugated in the present subjunctive for a specific reason. Let's find out what it is!

Cuando + Indicative

The word cuando is used in Spanish with verbs in the present indicative when speaking about habitual actions or general truths. Let's see a couple of examples:

Cuando están encendidos, dan luz.

When they're on, they give off light.

Caption 37, El Aula Azul Adivina qué es - Part 2

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Cuando lo hacemos con carne, podemos poner carne de cerdo, carne de ternera o pollo.

When we make it with meat, we can put in pork, beef, or chicken.

Captions 9-11, El Aula Azul Adivinanzas de comidas - Part 1

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The indicative is used in these examples because, in the first caption, it's a general fact that when the streetlights in question are turned on, they give off light. In the second example, the speaker describes the habitual action of preparing paella with different ingredients.

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Cuando + Subjunctive 

On the other hand, the word cuando is used with verbs in the present subjunctive when speaking about actions that will happen in the future, that may or may not happen, or that some other action depends upon. To illustrate this point, let's take a look at sentences with the same verbs used previously, this time conjugated in the present subjunctive.

Bueno, OK, eso lo hablamos cuando estés acá,

Well, OK, we'll talk about that when you're here,

Caption 3, Yago 11 Prisión - Part 3

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Cuando lo hagas correctamente, será verde.

When you do it correctly, it will be green.

Caption 26, Tutoriales de Yabla Consejos para usar Scribe

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The subjunctive is employed with cuando in these examples because they both describe future events that have not yet taken place and upon which other events depend. 

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When Cuando Can Be Used With Either Indicative or Subjunctive

It is worth noting that while the aforementioned examples quite clearly fall into the categories of habitual vs. future actions, there are some cases where either the indicative or the subjunctive could be used in the same sentence, giving it a slightly different nuance. Let's take an example where someone is teaching us to bake:

Present Indicative: 

Cuando las galletas están doradas, las saco del horno. 

When the cookies are golden brown, I take them out of the oven. 

Nuanced Meaning: Habitually, when the cookies are golden brown, I always take them out of the oven. 

Present Subjunctive: 

Cuando las galletas estén doradas, las saco del horno. 

When the cookies are golden brown, I'll take them out of the oven. 

Nuanced Meaning: At the moment when the cookies turn golden brown, I'll then take them out of the oven. 

Quite interestingly, while the English translations are nearly identical, the choice of the indicative vs. the subjunctive in Spanish gives the two sentences slightly different meanings. 

With this food for thought (pun intended!), we hope that you now know the reason for the different conjugations of the verb ir in the two introductory sentences and you understand when to choose the present indicative or subjunctive with the word cuando. Don't forget to write us with your questions or suggestions. 

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Are you familiar with the Spanish present progressive tense that utilizes the formula estar (to be) + gerund (the equivalent of the -ing form in English) to talk about an action in progress? Let's see an example:

¡Lo estás haciendo genial!

You're doing it great!

Caption 47, Aprendiendo con Zulbany Piensa rápido - Part 1

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Now let's look at an example where the verb ir (to go) is used with the gerund in lieu of the verb estar:

tú vas haciendo y pasan dos horas y te dicen vale ya está.

you're doing it and two hours go by and they tell you OK, that's it.

Caption 55, Blanca y Mariona Proyectos para el verano

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What's the difference? Although both estás haciendo and vas haciendo are translated as "you're doing" in these examples, the construction ir + gerund is often employed to emphasize the fact that an action is, was, or will be evolving over time, gradually, or as part of a process. Let's explore this notion a bit further. 

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How to Form Ir + Gerund in Spanish

As the formula suggests, this construction is created by combining a conjugated form of the verb ir (to go) in any tense with the gerund, for example, cambiando (changing), aprendiendo (learning), or diciendo (saying), which you can learn to conjugate in the aforementioned lesson on the present perfect. Let's see some examples in the present, imperfect, and future tenses.

Vamos cocinando (We're cooking) 

Iban creando (They were creating)

Iremos entendiendo (We'll be understanding)

How Does Ir + Gerund Differ From the Present Progressive? 

As we mentioned in the introduction, ir + gerund typically describes actions that take place over time, bit by bit, or as part of a process. Therefore, while their translations are sometimes the exact same as they would be if the verb estar were to replace the verb ir, this implication is present within this structure. With this in mind, let's see a few examples of this construction. 

In this caption, the preterite tense of the verb ir is used to describe something that happened in the distant past. However, the formula ir + gerund was chosen to demonstrate that the "growing" being talked about was a process that was unfolding at that moment in time. Let's see another example:

Mientras la cebolla está pochando, en otra sartén vamos a ir haciendo la patata.

While the onion is sauteing, in another frying pan, we're going to be making the potato.

Captions 42-43, La cocina de María Tortilla de patatas

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Here, the formula ir + gerund is once again used to talk about the process of making the potato over time. For this reason, you will often find this construction in sentences that contain the word mientras (while) to talk about an action that is evolving while something else happens. Let's look at one more example:

"Y el consciente..." ¿Viste como tú misma vas cambiando en la medida que vas trabajando?

"And the Conscious"... Did you see how you yourself are changing as you are working?

Captions 18-19, Escribiendo un libro Algunos consejos sobre cómo comenzar - Part 3

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Once again, ir + gerund is utilized because "changing" and "working" are actions that aren't just in progress at some moment but are rather part of a bigger picture of evolution over time. So, the implication here is "Did you see how you yourself are (gradually) changing as you are working (over time)? In fact, words like "gradually" or "over time" may or may not be added to the translations of some instances of the ir + gerund construction, which is sometimes difficult to translate precisely. 

That's all for today. We hope that this lesson has helped you to better understand the often seen but seldom talked about ir + gerund construction, and don't forget to write us with your questions and comments. 

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Let's start this lesson off with a quote that refers to a very important and oft-mentioned concept in Spanish: 

Veamos el verbo en infinitivo

Let's look at the verb in infinitive

Caption 13, Carlos explica El modo imperativo 2: Irregulares, Usted + plurales

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Most simply put, the infinitive is the impersonal, unconjugated, or "to" form of a verb, such as "to swim," "to see," or "to dance" in English. Let's take a closer look at Spanish infinitives and learn many of their potential uses.

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Types of Infinitives in Spanish 

Do you know how many types of infinitive verbs there are in Spanish? Let's hear the answer from Yabla's popular teacher Carolina:

Con infinitivo tenemos tres tipos de verbos: verbos que terminan en "ar", como "cantar", verbos que terminan en "er", como "comer" y verbos que terminan en "ir", como "salir".

With infinitive we have three types of verbs: verbs that end in "ar," like "cantar" [to sing], verbs that end in "er," like "comer" [to eat] and verbs that end in "ir," like "salir" [to leave].

Captions 11-14, Lecciones con Carolina El gerundio - Part 1

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These three categories of infinitive verbs determine the patterns according to which regular verbs are conjugated in all of the various verb tenses in Spanish. Although there are far too many to name, we have provided below ten of the most common Spanish infinitives in each category. The bold print indicates some irregular or stem-changing verbs whose conjugations deviate from the norm.

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Uses of Spanish Infinitives 

Now that we understand what an infinitive verb is, let's learn some of the ways in which these non-conjugated verbs can be employed in Spanish. 

Spanish Infinitives After Certain Conjugated Verbs

Many specific conjugated verbs in Spanish can be followed immediately by an infinitive verb. In this case, the infinitive may be translated into English with either the "to" or present participle (-ing) form, depending upon the specific verb and context. Let's see a couple of examples with querer (to want) and evitar (to avoid), which are often followed by infinitive verbs:

Perfecto. Yo quiero viajar a Japón. ¿Sí?

Perfect. I want to travel to Japan. Right?

Caption 77, Clase Aula Azul Pedir deseos - Part 1

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"Evita beber desde media tarde bebidas estimulantes

"Avoid drinking, starting from mid-afternoon, stimulant drinks

Caption 24, Aprendiendo con Silvia Consejos para dormir mejor - Part 1

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Although the list of these tverbs that are frequently followed by the infinitive is quite long, some additional common ones include buscar (to seek), deber (to have to/must), esperar (to hope), intentar (to try), necesitar (to need), soler (to usually), tener que (to have to), and temer (to fear).

Spanish Infinitives Following Prepositions

When a verb follows a preposition in Spanish, it should be in the infinitive form. In these cases, Spanish infinitive verbs will be translated with the -ing form of the verb. Let's look at some examples:

Antes de empezar, necesito mis anteojos.

Before starting, I need my glasses.

Caption 19, Natalia de Ecuador Los adverbios de orden

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¡Perdónalo! Lo dijo sin pensar.

Forgive him! He said it without thinking.

Caption 34, Los Años Maravillosos Capítulo 10 - Part 4

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Some other prepositions after which infinitive Spanish verbs are often found include, but aren't limited to: a (to, at), con (with), de (from, of), después de (after), and en (at/in/on).

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Spanish Infinitives After Fixed Expressions

There are many common fixed expressions in Spanish that include prepositions and thus require the infinitive, including the near future tense, ir a + infinitive ("to be going to" do something), pensar en + infinitive ("to think about" doing something), dejar de + infinitive ("to stop" or "quit" doing something), tener ganas de + infinitive ("to feel like" doing something), haber que + infinitive (for some action "to be necessary"), estar por + infinitive ("to be about to" do something), and countless more! Let's see a few of these in action:  

que tengo ganas de saltar y bailar.

that I feel like jumping and dancing.

Caption 4, Aprendiendo con Silvia Las emociones - Part 6

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Había que pagar el precio.

One had to pay the price.

Caption 2, Los Años Maravillosos Capítulo 5 - Part 5

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¡Ya deje de hablar de esa niña!

Stop talking about that girl already!

Caption 7, Los Años Maravillosos Capítulo 6 - Part 2

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Spanish Infinitives as Nouns

Sometimes, like in English, Spanish infinitive verbs can function like nouns, as in the following excerpt: 

Me encanta comprar.

I love shopping.

Caption 40, Ariana Mi Semana

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Note that in such cases, while the article is not required, it may be added for emphasis as follows:

Ahora hasta de hablar,

Now even about talking,

los muchachos les da pena el hablar maya.

the young kids are embarrassed about speaking Maya.

Caption 54, Yabla en Yucatán - Don Salo - Part 1

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Spanish Infinitives as Commands

In certain situations, such as explaining how to do something step by step in a manual, cookbook, show, etc., or telling the public on a sign or some other medium what they can and cannot do, Spanish verbs in the infinitive can be construed as commands. Let's take a look: 

"No fumar. Esto produce la muerte".

"Don't smoke. This causes death."

Caption 56, Los médicos explican - Las migrañas

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An alternative translation on a sign might be: "No smoking." 

That's all for today. We hope that this lesson has helped you to understand what infinitive verbs are and many of their possible uses. Can you think of any more? Don't forget to write us with your suggestions and comments.

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Do you know when to use the future perfect in Spanish? Known in Spanish as the futuro compuesto or antefuturo, the future perfect tense in Spanish works very similarly to its English counterpart to speak about things that "will have" happened at a given point of time in the future. However, despite its name, it can also be used to describe or ask about things that "must" or "would have" happened in the past! Let's take a look at how to conjugate the future perfect in Spanish as well examples of these usages.

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How to Conjugate the Future Perfect Tense in Spanish

Just like the Spanish present perfect tense, which is used to express things one "has done" in utterances like Yo he comido (I have eaten), the future perfect in Spanish employs the verb haber (an auxiliary, or helping, verb that means "have") plus the past participle (whose regular forms end in -ado or -ido and correspond to English participles ending in -ed or -en such as "danced," "taken," etc.). However, in contrast to the present perfect, where haber is conjugated in the present tense, the future perfect in Spanish employs the future tense of this verb. With this in mind, let's see the formula for conjugating the future perfect in Spanish:

Future tense of haber + past participle 

Now, let's look at the future tense conjugations of the verb haber then hear how they are pronounced:

Habré, habrás, habrá, habremos, habréis, habrán.

I will have, you will have, he/she/you will have, we will have, you all will have, they/you all will have.

Caption 81, Escuela BCNLIP - Clase con Javi: el futuro

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And finally, we will examine some examples of this formula in action:

ya que entonces el hechizo habrá terminado.

because then the spell will have finished.

Caption 56, Cuentos de hadas - Cenicienta

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Habréis visto que sobre la mesa tengo también un trozo de limón.

You'll have seen that on the table, I also have a piece of lemon.

Captions 33-34, Soledad - Ensalada de alcachofa

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You may have noticed that, as we indicated in the introduction, while the first example refers to something that "will happen" in the future, the second describes something that the speaker's audience probably saw in the past! Let's examine more closely these two different ways to employ the future perfect tense in Spanish. 

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Using the Future Perfect in Spanish to Talk About the Future

The following examples illustrate the use of the Spanish future perfect tense to describe what "will have" happened in the future, which the context indicates quite clearly:

todavía estará más bueno,

it will be even better

ya que habrá cogido más cuerpo y más sabor.

since it will have gotten more body and more flavor.

Captions 69-70, Fermín - Ensalada de tomate

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Dentro de cinco años, los ingenieros habrán terminado de construir el puente. 

Within five years, the engineers will have finished building the bridge. 

Para el año 2030, yo habré ahorrado mucho dinero. 

By the year 2030, I will have saved a lot of money. 

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Using the Future Perfect in Spanish to Talk About the Past

Let's conclude by looking at examples of the future perfect tense in Spanish that depict what "will" or "must" have happened in the past or speculate about what "would" or "could have" taken place:

Si pusieron atención,

If you paid attention,

se habrán dado cuenta que Kevin y Leo, que son hermanos,

you will have noticed that Kevin and Leo, who are brothers,

Captions 50-51, Carlos comenta - Los Años Maravillosos - Forma de hablar

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Bueno, querido, pero algo habrás hecho.

Well, dear, but you must have done something.

Caption 25, Muñeca Brava - 39 Verdades - Part 4

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¿Lo buscó bien?

Did you look for him well?

Lo buscó... -¿Pero dónde se habrá ido?

You looked for him... -But where would he have gone?

Caption 36, Confidencial: Asesino al Volante - Capítulo 3

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Although the translations for each of these examples vary slightly, what they all have in common is the fact that the action being described requires an educated guess about something that has already happened. 

That's all for today. We hope that this lesson has helped you to understand when to use future perfect in Spanish, and don't forget to write us with your questions and comments.

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Do you know the difference between the present indicative and the present subjunctive moods in Spanish? Most simply put, the indicative depicts certainty and objectivity while the subjunctive describes doubt and subjectivity. If you would like to learn about or brush up on these concepts, we suggest lessons from Yabla's Spanish lesson archives on how to use the Spanish present indicative and when to use the Spanish subjunctive, and when you feel ready, test your knowledge with this quiz!

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Present Indicative vs. Subjunctive: Fill in the Blank

In the following sentences, choose the correct present indicative or subjunctive verb to fill in the blank. 

1. David ____ al gimnasio todos los días.

a. va

b. vaya

2.  Espero que María ______ a la fiesta; hace mucho que no la veo. 

a. viene

b. venga

3. Nos alegra mucho de que ____ aquí.

a. estás

b. estés

4. Juan _____ ahora mismo. 

5. Juan estudió muy poco para el examen. Dudo que _____ una buena nota. 

a. saca

b. saque

6. Todos nos vemos afectados por la sequía. Ojalá que ______ pronto. 

a. llueve

b. llueva

7.  Yo te _____ mañana. 

a. llamo

b. llame

8. Los planetas _____ alrededor del sol.

a. giran

b. giren

9. Si quieres ser músico profesional, es muy importante que __________ mucho. 

a. practicas

b. practiques 

10. Recomiendo que _________ Barcelona durante nuestro viaje a España.

a. visitamos

b. visitemos 

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Bonus Round

These tougher bonus round questions include more than one verb in the present indicative and/or subjunctive mood(s), as well more options. Are you ready?! 

11. Yo ______ que Manuel me ______ a la fiesta.

a. quiero, invita

b. quiera, invite

c. quiero, invite

d. quiera, invita

12. Mariela _____ muchas ganas de conocer Brazil. Es seguro que _____ ahí este verano. 

a. tiene, viaja

b. tenga, viaje

c. tiene, viaje

d. tenga, viaja

13. No creo que _______ al evento. Todos ________ muy enfermos. 

a. asistimos, estamos

b. asistamos, estemos

c. asistimos, estemos

d. asistamos, estamos

14. _______ en contacto. Nos _____ pronto. 

a. Estamos, vemos

b. Estemos, veamos

c. Estamos, veamos

d. Estemos, vemos

15. Te ____ que me _____ la verdad, que siempre ____ sincero conmigo. 

a. pido, dices, eres

b. pida, digas, seas

c. pido, digas, seas

d. pida, dices, seas

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Present Indicative vs. Subjunctive Quiz: The Answers

The following are the answers to all of the questions in this Present Indicative vs. Subjunctive Quiz as well as the translations and grammatical justifications for each. 

That's all for this quiz. How did you do?! To better understand the various uses of the Spanish present indicative and subjunctive, we have a plethora of lessons and videos in our archives to assist you! For starters, try Clase Aula Azul's series Pedir deseos (Making Wishes) and Información con subjuntivo e indicativo (Information with Subjunctive and Indicative), Ana Carolina's El modo subjuntivo (The Subjunctive Mood), and Doctora Consejos (Doctor Advice) videos like Subjuntivo y sentimientos (Subjunctive and Feelings) and Subjuntivo y persona ideal (Subjunctive and Ideal Person). In the meantime, we hope you've enjoyed this Present Indicative vs. Subjunctive Quiz, and don't forget to write us with your questions and comments.

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Do you know the difference between the Spanish preterite and imperfect tenses? In a nutshell, the preterite describes completed past actions, while the imperfect describes conditions or qualities, or actions that were not yet completed or in progress at a specific moment in the past. Can you insert the correct choices in different contexts, and do you know the grammatical reasons for doing so? Test your knowledge of these two different Spanish past tenses with the following quiz!

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Preterite vs. Imperfect: Fill in the Blank

In the following sentences, choose the correct preterite or imperfect verb(s) to fill in the blank(s). 

1. Yo _____ en Madrid en el año mil novecientos ochenta y cuatro.

a. nacía

b. nací

2. Ella todavía ________ la cena cuando los invitados llegaron.

a. preparaba

b. preparó

3. ____ las cuatro de la tarde y ya se oscurecía.

a. Eran

b. Fueron

4. David estaba en la ducha cuando su esposa _____ de la casa para ir a trabajar. 

5. El chico ___ muy alto. _____ el pelo negro y los ojos verdes. 

a. era, Tenía

b. fue, Tuvo

6. Los hermanos _________ a sus abuelos en New Hampshire todos los veranos. 

a. visitaban

b. visitaron

7. La gimnasta rumana Nadia Comaneci _______ siete veces una calificacción perfecta durante su carrera. 

a. obtenía

b. obtuvo

8. Los gemelos empezaron la escuela cuando _____ tres años.

a. tenían

b. tuvieron

9. ________________ por la mañana, ________________ y nos _________ a trabajar. 

a. Nos levantamos, nos arreglamos, nos fuimos

b. Nos levantábamos, nos arreglábamos, nos íbamos

10. _________ muy emocionados porque nuestra tía nos venía a visitar.

a. Estuvimos

b. Estábamos 

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Bonus Round

All of our trickier bonus round questions will involve more than one verb in the preterite and/or imperfect tense(s), as well more choices. Are you up for the challenge?! 

11. Carla _______ su solo en el recital cuando de repente ____________.

a. bailó, se tropezó

b. bailaba, se tropezaba 

c. bailó, se tropezaba

d. bailaba, se tropezó

12. Diego ______ muy emocionado porque ___ el once de enero: el día de su cumpleaños. 

a. estuvo, fue

b. estaba, era 

c. estuvo, era

d. estaba, fue

13. Aunque ya _______ a algunas personas en mi escuela, no _______ a mi mejor amigo hasta mi segundo año.

a. conocí, conocí

b. conocía, conocía

c. conocí, conocía

d. conocía, conocí

14. En el momento en que ________ a nevar, _________ en camino a la playa. 

a. empezó, estuvimos

b. empezaba, estábamos

c. empezó, estábamos

d. empezaba, estuvimos

15. La chica, que ___ muy guapa y joven, _______ con su novio el día tres de septiembre en una boda que ______ más de cinco horas.

a. fue, se casó, duró

b. era, se casaba, duraba

c. era, se casó, duraba

d. era, se casó, duró

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Preterite vs. Imperfect Quiz: The Answers

The following are the answers to all of the questions in this Preterite vs. Imperfect Quiz, as well as the translations and grammatical reasons for each. 

Preterite vs. Imperfect: Fill in the Blank

That's all for this lesson. How many answers did you get right?! To better understand these verbs tenses, we recommend the videos from our popular series Carlos Explica (Carlos Explains) on the Spanish preterite tense as well as the Spanish imperfect. In the meantime, we hope you've enjoyed this Preterite vs. Imperfect Quiz, and don't forget to leave us your questions and comments.

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The Spanish conjunction aunque, whose English translations include "although," "even though," "even if," etc., often appears within the constructions aunque + present indicative and aunque + present subjunctive. Although sentences that include said constructions are often structurally similar, the use of either the indicative or the subjunctive with aunque affects their meaning. Additionally (and as usual in Spanish!), the subjunctive construction is slightly more challenging since the meaning of the same sentence could vary depending upon context. Let's take a closer look.

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Aunque + Present Indicative

Aunque + present indicative is used to state facts and is a pretty straight-forward equivalent of similarly truth-stating English sentences with "although" and "even though." Let's see some examples:

aunque terminan en "a", son realmente palabras masculinas.

although they end in "a," they are really masculine words.

Caption 22, Lecciones con Carolina Errores comunes - Part 6

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Aunque es checa la canción, el tema, eh... en Berlín, en Alemania creen [sic] mucha gente que es alemán.

Although the song, the tune, is Czech, um... in Berlin, in Germany, a lot of people think it's German.

Captions 48-49, Hispanoamericanos en Berlín Manuel y El barrilito

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Aunque + Present Subjunctive

In contrast to aunque + present indicative, aunque + present subjunctive conveys different meanings and is used in two different scenarios: 1. In hypothetical situations and 2. When the information being communicated is considered "background information" that the audience already knows. 

Aunque + Present Subjunctive for Hypothetical Situations

In order to understand how the use of the subjunctive with aunque changes the meaning of a sentence, let's take the third example of aunque + present indicative and replace it with aunque + present subjunctive:

Bueno, hay que ser optimista, aunque tenga la impresión de que no me van a dar el trabajo. 

Well, one has to be optimistic, even if I might have the impression that they are not going to give me the job.

The subjunctive version conveys something different than its indicative counterpart because, rather than explicitly stating her impression after a specific job interview, the speaker says more generally that "even though she might have" a particular impression following an interview, she should remain optimistic. Let's take a look at some additional examples of this use of aunque + present subjunctive from the Yabla Spanish library:  

Aunque sea sólo para un fin de semana, para mí, tiene las características esenciales para disfrutar de un viaje,

Even if it's only for a weekend, for me, it has the essential characteristics for enjoying a trip,

Captions 47-49, Lydia de Barcelona Lydia y el festival de cine "Women Mujeres"

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Here, Lydia is saying to an audience of potential tourists to Barcelona that, hypothetically speaking, a visit would be worth it even if they might only have one free weekend. On the other hand, the indicative "Aunque es sólo para un fin de semana" would be used for someone you knew was only visiting Barcelona for one weekend. This is sometimes confusing for English speakers since the phrase "Even if it's only for a weekend" could refer to either situation and is thus a valid translation for both the indicative and subjunctive versions of the sentence. Let's look at one more example:

Aunque no crean, existe el amor a primera vista.

Believe it or not, love at first sight does exist.

Caption 56, El reencuentro Las amigas hablan del trabajo y el amor.

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While Aunque no crean is the Spanish equivalent of the English idiom "Believe it or not," a more literal translation is "Even though you might not believe it" since we don't know whether or not the audience does. 

Aunque + Present Subjunctive for Background Information

Now, let's examine a use of aunque + present subjunctive that might initially seem confusing:

Os recuerdo que las islas Canarias, aunque estén en el océano Atlántico y muy cerca de la costa africana,

I remind you that the Canary Islands, although they're in the Atlantic Ocean and very close to the African coast,

Captions 4-6, Aprendiendo con Silvia Deportes tradicionales canarios - Part 1

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Since what Silvia is saying is a fact (the Canary Islands are most definitely located in the Atlantic Ocean, close to Africa), why does she use the subjunctive? This is because aunque + present subjunctive is also used when the speaker assumes that their audience already knows the information being stated. 

To sum it up: Use the indicative when you want to inform someone about something that you assume is new information for them, and use the subjunctive to say things you believe the receiver already knows. Let's see another example of this use: 

Aunque San Sebastián tenga tres playas, yo siempre hago surf en la Zurriola.

Even though San Sebastian has three beaches, I always surf at Zurriola.

Captions 16-17, Clase Aula Azul Información con subjuntivo e indicativo - Part 2

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As seen here, even if it's a fact that San Sebastián has three beaches, you'd employ the subjunctive tenga for a person you think knows this information and the indicative tiene for a person you believe to be learning it, despite identical English translations. For a detailed explanation of this use of aunque + present subjunctive with a plethora of examples, check out the video series Clase Aula Azul: Información con subjuntivo e indicativo (Aula Azul Class: Information with Subjunctive and Indicative).

Ambiguity with the Aunque + Subjunctive Construction

Sometimes, the meaning of an aunque + subjunctive sentence is ambiguous and, without context, might be impossible to ascertain. Let's take a look at an example that could be understood in more than one way: 

Aunque haga calor, yo voy a usar mi chaqueta nueva. 

On its face, this sentence could have two possible meanings:

1. Even though it might be hot (hypothetically on some particular day in the future), I'm going to wear my new jacket.

2. Even though it (really) is hot (and I know you know it's hot), I'm going to wear my new jacket.

In the second scenario, we assume that the person with whom we are speaking already knows the information; perhaps they are sitting there sweating with us, or maybe they called you to complain about the heat: The main point is that we believe that this is shared information. To determine, however, which of the two aforementioned meanings is intended, context is required, and there may be cases where it could seem to go either way. 

In conclusion, aunque sea el concepto un poco difícil (although the concept might be a bit difficult), we hope that this lesson has made clear to you when to use the constructions aunque + present indicative and aunque + present subjunctive... and don't forget to send us your suggestions and comments!

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The Spanish near future tense is an alternative to the traditional future tense in Spanish. If you haven't yet learned to conjugate the future tense in Spanish or find it difficult, we recommend using the near future tense in Spanish, which is expressed with a simple formula that we'll teach you today.

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Present Indicative Conjugation of Ir

Since the near future tense in Spanish is most commonly (but not always!) seen in the present indicative tense, it will behoove you to make sure you know the present indicative conjugation of the verb ir. Let's take a look:

Formula for the Spanish Near Future Tense

Now that we've recalled the present indicative conjugation of ir, let's take a look at the formula for the Spanish near future tense, which is ir + a + infinitive. As ir means "to go," and a can mean "to," you can think of the Spanish near future tense as "to be going to" do something. Let's see some examples:

¡Abuelo, no vas a creer lo que te voy a contar! 

Grandpa, you aren't going to believe what I'm going to tell you!

Caption 9, Guillermina y Candelario El Mejor Columpio

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y ellos nos van a dar un poco de información. 

and they are going to give us a bit of information.

Caption 4, El Aula Azul Los profesores de la escuela - Part 2

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Entonces, hoy vamos a hablar de la familia. 

So, today we are going to talk about family.

Caption 1, Curso de español Vamos a hablar de la familia

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Sidenote:

The first person plural form vamos a + infinitive can also be an alternative for the nosotros/as command form, which is the equivalent of "Let's" [do something] in English. We see this in the popular expression Vamos a ver (Let's see):

Así que, vamos a ver de qué se trata.

So, let's see what it is.

Caption 6, Ana Carolina Receta para una picada

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That said, although there may be some cases in which it is difficult to determine whether a Spanish sentence with vamos a + infinitive is intended to mean "we're going to" or "let's," in most cases, context should make this clear.  

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When to Use the Spanish Near Future Tense

Technically, the Spanish near future tense is intended for events that are imminent rather than in the distant future, and for that reason, it is quite often accompanied by words like ahora (now) or hoy (today), as in the following examples:

y hoy les voy a dar siete consejos prácticos para mejorar su pronunciación en español.

and today I'm going to give you seven practical tips to improve your pronunciation in Spanish.

Captions 4-5, Ana Carolina Mejorando la pronunciación

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Muy bien. Pues ahora, vais a practicar más.

Very good. Well, now you're going to practice more.

Caption 39, Clase Aula Azul La segunda condicional - Part 7

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Having said that, the near future tense is extremely common to hear in spoken Spanish (probably more so than the traditional future tense) and will often be heard describing events with a vaguer or more distant timeline:

Y algún día voy a ser la voz líder de mi banda, los Equis seis.

And someday, I'm going to be the lead singer of my band, the X6 [Ex Six].

Caption 11, X6 1 - La banda - Part 1

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For this reason, as the traditional future and near future tenses are virtually equivalent in terms of meaning, you should feel free to use this near future tense "hack" in virtually any situation in which you wish to describe an action in the future. 

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Expressing the Near Future in the Past

So, what if, rather than saying you "are going to" do something, you wish to say that, at a certain moment in the past, you "were going to" perform an action? You would do so by using the near future tense, but conjugating the infinitive ir in the Spanish imperfect tense. Let's take a look at it:

Now, let's see some examples:

Llegué al examen muy contenta porque sabía que iba a aprobar.

I got to the exam very happy because I knew I was going to pass.

Captions 64-65, Los casos de Yabla El examen - Part 1

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Te dije que íbamos a hacer ejercicio.

I told you we were going to exercise.

Caption 67, Cleer y Lida Los números

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Sidenotes: 

1. Be aware that this same construction could be used to indicate something one "used to go do" in the past, for example, "En el verano, yo iba a nadar a la piscina" ("In summer, I'd go to swim at the pool"). Context will usually tell you which meaning is intended.

2. For the past version of the near future tense, remember to use the imperfect, or ongoing past tense, rather than the Spanish preterite tense, which would indicate that something already happened (E.g. Yo fui a nadar a la piscina = I went to swim at the pool). 

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Quiz on the Near Future Tense

Let's conclude today's lesson with a little quiz. Taking a few examples of the traditional future tense from our library, see if you can convert them to the present indicative form of the near future tense. Try to do them yourself prior to looking at the answers.

Future Tense:

No, abuelito. ¡Hoy haré el salto más alto del mundo! 

No, Grandpa. Today I'll do the world's highest jump!

Caption 12, Guillermina y Candelario Una Amiga muy Presumida - Part 1

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Near Future Tense: 

No, abuelito. ¡Hoy voy a hacer el salto más alto del mundo!

No, Grandpa. Today I'm going to do the world's highest jump!)

Future Tense: 

Sin embargo de esto hablaremos en la próxima lección. 

However, we will talk about this in the next lesson.

Caption 51, Carlos explica Diminutivos y Aumentativos Cap 1: Los sufijos

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Near Future Tense: 

Sin embargo de esto vamos a hablar en la próxima lección

However, we're going to talk about this in the next lesson.

Future Tense:

Verán que mañana el estadio estará lleno.

You guys will see that tomorrow the stadium will be full.

Caption 45, Carlos explica Tuteo, ustedeo y voseo: Ustedes y vosotros

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Near Future Tense: 

Van a ver que mañana el estadio va a estar lleno.

You guys are going to see that tomorrow the stadium is going to be full.

That's all for today. We hope that this lesson has helped you to feel more confident using the Spanish near future tense, which can come in quite handy when talking about your plans... and don't forget to write us with your suggestions and comments.

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Let's talk about the passive voice in Spanish!

What is "Voice"?

Let's start by understanding the concept of voz (voice) in a sentence- in English or Spanish. This refers to the relationship between a sentence's subject and verb. A sentence's voice can be active or passive. But what's the difference?

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The Active Voice

In the active voice, the subject performs a verb's action onto an object and is thus considered the sentence's actor or agent (the person or thing that carries out the action). Let's see some examples:

In this example, "we" is the subject/agent who carried out the action of "painting" the object, "a ton of dark backgrounds."

Gabriel García Márquez escribió muchos libros.

Gabriel García Márquez wrote a lot of books.

Caption 50, Carlos explica El pretérito Cap. 1: Perfecto simple o Indefinido

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And finally, here, Gabriel García Márquez is the subject, and agent, who performed the action of "writing" the object (a lot of books).  

The Passive Voice

In the passive voice, on the other hand, what was previously the object in the active voice actually becomes the subject, but, this time, receives the action of the verb. At the same time, the previous subject becomes a "passive agent" who may or may not be mentioned at the end of the sentence. That said, before finding out how to convey sentences in the passive voice in Spanish, let's convert our previous English examples of the active voice to the passive voice:

Active: Pedro eats cookies

Passive: Cookies are eaten by Pedro

um... we painted a ton of dark backgrounds

um... a ton of dark backgrounds were painted by us

Active: Gabriel García Márquez wrote a lot of books.

Passive: A lot of books were written by Gabriel García Márquez.

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Two Formulas

Now that we have a better concept of the passive voice, how do we express it in Spanish? Let's learn two different formulas for doing so. 

1. Ser + past participle + (por + agent)

In this first formula, the verb ser (to be) is conjugated in accordance with the subject of the sentence and followed by a past participle (you may wish to consult this lesson that covers conjugating the past participle). In this construction, the participle (the equivalent of English words like "spoken," "eaten," "gone," etc.) must agree with the subject in terms of number and gender. Subsequently, por plus an agent may be optionally added to explain who or what completed the action. Let's take a look at some examples of this formula in Spanish:

y es escrito por mí personalmente.

and is personally written by me.

Caption 46, Los Tiempos de Pablo Escobar Capítulo 1 - Part 7

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Las tarjetas fueron usadas

The cards were used

Caption 32, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa Capítulo 3 - Part 12

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Note that in accordance with las tarjetas, the third person plural of ser, fueron, is used along with the feminine plural participle usadas. However, in contrast to the other two examples where por is used to identify the person or people who carried out the action, here, the agent is unknown and thus unmentioned. Let's move on to our second formula.

2. Se + verb in third person

This construction is formed with se and a verb in third person singular or plural, depending upon whether what is being spoken about (the subject) is singular or plural. Let's see a few examples:

Este vino se hace con una de las uvas más populares 

This wine is made with one of the most popular grapes

Caption 21, Amaya Cata de vinos

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In the first caption, the verb hacer is conjugated in the third person singular to agree with el vino, while celebrar and hacer in the second and third examples are plural in agreement with las corridas and los uniformes. Notice that there is no mention of the entity who performed the action in any of these sentences since this second formula rarely mentions the action's agent. 

When Is the Passive Voice Used?

The passive voice is more commonly encountered in the media or literature or when the agent that carried out the action is unknown or considered less relevant. It can only be used with transitive verbs, or verbs that are capable of transmitting some action onto a direct object. In terms of tenses, you may have noticed that our examples have included the present, imperfect, and preterite. While the passive voice formulas contain particular grammatical specifications, there is no mention of any of the specific Spanish verb tenses because active Spanish sentences in any verb tense can be converted to the passive voice. With this in mind, let's conclude this lesson with a present perfect tense example of the verb descubrir (to discover) in the active as well as both formats of the passive voice:

Active:

Científicos han descubierto que cuando un abrazo dura más de veinte segundos se produce un efecto terapéutico

Scientists have discovered that when a hug lasts more than twenty seconds, a therapeutic effect is produced

Captions 5-7, Aprendiendo con Silvia El abrazo

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Passive 1:

Ya que ellos, pues, han sido descubiertos en Inglaterra

Since they, well, have been discovered in England

Caption 40, Hugo Rodríguez Duendes artesanales

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Passive 2:

porque se han descubierto muchas virtudes

because many virtues have been discovered

Caption 9, Cómetelo Crema de brócoli - Part 1

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That's all for today. For more information on the passive voice in Spanish, check out this four-part video series on La voz pasiva as well as this lesson on the passive vs. impersonal se constructions. And don't forget to leave us your suggestions and comments.

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Like in English, the Spanish pluperfect tense describes something that happened before something else, for example, something that "had" already happened at a certain point in time or before another past action. Let's find out how to conjugate the Spanish pluperfect tense and hear several examples in action.

Conjugating the Spanish Pluperfect

The Spanish pluperfect tense, which is sometimes referred to as the past perfect tense, is pretty easy to conjugate! It is very similar to the Spanish present perfect tense (the verb haber in the present tense + the participle) except that haber will be conjugated in the Spanish imperfect tense. So, the formula for the pluperfect tense in Spanish would be:

haber in the imperfect tense + the participle

Let's first take a look at the imperfect conjugation of haber:

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Now we need a Spanish participle. These correspond to English participles (which often but not always end in -ed or -en). Examples include regular -ar verbs like hablado (talked/spoken) and mirado (looked), regular -er verbs like comido (eaten) and aprendido (learned), regular -ir verbs like recibido (received) and dormido (slept), and irregular verbs like abierto (opened), visto (seen), and dicho (said). For a list of more irregular Spanish participles as well as a detailed explanation of how to conjugate participles in Spanish, we invite you to consult this lesson on the present perfect tense in Spanish. 

Meaning of the Spanish Pluperfect

Whereas the verb haber in the present tense can be translated as "have" in the context of the present perfect in examples like Yo he comido (I have eaten), Tú has comenzado (You have begun), or Nosotros/as hemos hablado (We have talked/spoken), the translation for the imperfect conjugation of haber within the pluperfect tense is "had." That said, let's look at those same verbs conjugated in the pluperfect, noting their translations:

Yo había comido: I had eaten

Tú habías comenzado: You had begun

Nosotros/as habíamos hablado: We had talked/spoken

Examples of the Spanish Pluperfect

Now that we know how to conjugate the Spanish pluperfect and how to translate it, let's view a few examples. You will note from the translations that the Spanish pluperfect is used in very similar situations as the pluperfect in English. 

Cuando Cenicienta quiso dar las gracias, el hada ya había desaparecido.

When Cinderella tried to say thank you, the fairy had already disappeared.

Caption 1, Cuentos de hadas Cenicienta - Part 2

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Here, the pluperfect is used to indicate that the fairy "had disappeared" prior to the moment that Cinderella "tried" to say goodbye (as described by the preterite verb quiso).  Let's see another one:

Pero es que nunca había visto una anguila.

But the thing is that I had never seen an eel.

Caption 3, Guillermina y Candelario Un pez mágico - Part 2

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In this example, rather than expressing that "he'd" never "seen" an eel before some other past action, the speaker employs the pluperfect to explain that, at the moment in the past that he is describing, he "hadn't seen" an eel ever in his life. Let's look at one more: 

decidieron regresar al lugar de donde habían venido.

they decided to return to the place where they had come from.

Caption 44, Aprendiendo con Carlos América precolombina - El mito de Bachué

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In this final example, the preterite verb decidieron lets us know that in that moment in the past, "they decided" to go back to the location where they "had come from" (at some other moment in time prior to deciding to go back, of course!). 

That's all for today. We hope that this lesson has helped you to understand how the Spanish pluperfect tense is conjugated and used... and don't forget to leave us your suggestions and comments. 

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What would you do if you won the lottery? Spanish uses a type of conditional sentence known as the segunda condicional (second conditional) to describe these types of scenarios, which is formed with a simple formula that we will cover today. 

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The Second Conditional in Spanish

There are many different types of Spanish conditionals, or conditional sentences. These are sentences that describe the result "if" a certain condition were in place. They are formed with a conditional si, or "if" clause, plus a main clause, and are classified according to the likelihood of the hypothetical situation. The second conditional typically focuses on scenarios that are unlikely or hypothetical, but can also be used to make an utterance extra polite. 

The Spanish Second Conditional Formula

Let's take a look at the formula for the second conditional in Spanish:

Si + imperfect subjunctive verb + conditional verb 

If you need to learn or review these tenses or how to conjugate them, we recommend these lessons on the Spanish imperfect subjunctive tense, which describes the unlikely or hypothetical action, and the Spanish conditional tense which conveys the action(s) that "would" happen if some other condition "were" in place.

Examples of the Spanish Second Conditional 

Let's take a look at several examples of the Spanish second conditional and some situations in which it could be employed. We'll start with some sentences that describe very unlikely situations:

Si tuviera que definirla en una sola palabra, sería amor.

If I had to define her in just one word, it would be love.

Caption 22, Fermín y los gatos Mi gata Poeska

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Note that while the first conditional si puede venir a la oficina mañana a las nueve, la ubicaremos en su puesto enseguida (if you can come to the office tomorrow at nine, we will get you acquainted with your position right away) could also have been used in this situation, the second conditional in Spanish is sometimes chosen to infuse a sentence with extra formality. 

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Reversing the Formula

In some cases, the order of the imperfect subjunctive and the conditional verbs can be flipped. Let's take a look at a couple of examples:

Pero, por eso, estamos imaginando qué pasaría si nos tocara la lotería,

But that's why we're imagining what would happen if we won the lottery,

Captions 34-35, Clase Aula Azul La segunda condicional - Part 2

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¿Qué harías si te encontraras un sobre con cincuenta mil euros?

What would you do if you found an envelope with fifty thousand euros?

Caption 19, El Aula Azul La Doctora Consejos: La segunda condicional

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That's all for today. We hope that this lesson has helped you to understand a very common formula for talking about hypothetical situations in Spanish. For further information on this topic, we recommend this entertaining video entitled La Doctora Consejos: La segunda condicional (Doctor Advice: The Second Conditional) by El Aula Azul, or this more in-depth lesson called La Segunda Condicional by Clase El Aula Azul. And as always... don't forget to leave us your suggestions and comments. 

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What is the imperfect subjunctive tense in Spanish? It is basically the past version of the Spanish present subjunctive! That said, let's begin this lesson with a bit of background on the subjunctive, which is one of the three Spanish moods.

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The Spanish Subjunctive Mood

Most simply put, Spanish uses different verb tenses to distinguish between objective states and actions and subjective, uncertain, or emotional ones, for example, things we merely "hope" will happen. So, while there's no difference in verb form between "you come" and "I hope you come" in English, in the equivalent statement in Spanish, (usted) viene (you come) changes to the present subjunctive venga as we see here: 

Espero que venga a ver nuestros productos,

I hope you come see our products,

Caption 70, Otavalo Artesanos

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To get a tad more technical, as we see in the example above, in Spanish sentences with a subjunctive verb, we often (but not always) see the following structure:

1. An independent clause with a verb in the indicative that "triggers" the use of the subjunctive (we'll learn more about these later!)

2. A conjunction, or connecting word, like que

3. A dependent clause with a subjunctive verb

And while a "triggering" present tense verb provokes the present subjunctive, a "triggering" verb in some form of the past tense (e.g. preterite, imperfect, or past perfect) will be followed by a verb in the Spanish imperfect subjunctive, as we see here:

La verdad esperaba que usted viniera con su apoderada.

Truthfully I was hoping that you'd come with your client.

Caption 70, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa Capítulo 1 - Part 10

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How to Conjugate the Imperfect Subjunctive in Spanish

Now that you know a little bit about the Spanish imperfect subjunctive, let's learn how to conjugate it. If you know how to conjugate the third person plural of the preterite in Spanish, conjugating the imperfect subjunctive is relatively easy. You simply remove the -ron ending to get the imperfect subjunctive stem, then add one of two sets of endings (there are two distinct forms of the imperfect subjunctive in Spanish that are used interchangeably). Let's first take a look at these two ending sets:

Now, let's remove the -ron endings to come up with the imperfect stems for several common Spanish verbs: 

Now that we have the stems, let's add the endings to come up with the two versions of the Spanish imperfect subjunctive for all of these verbs, noting the addition of the accent in the nosotros/as (we) forms to maintain pronunciation. Although the first ending set is more commonly heard, while the second is the more "classic" form, there is no difference in meaning whatsoever.

Ending Set 1:

Ending Set 2:

And the good news is... there are no irregular verbs in the Spanish imperfect subjunctive!

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When to Use the Spanish Imperfect Subjunctive

So, what are some examples of Spanish verbs that trigger the subjunctive? The acronym W.E.I.R.D.O., which stands for Wishes, Emotions, Impersonal Expressions, Recommendations, Doubt/Denial, and Ojalá, can help you to remember many of them. Keep in mind that because today's lesson focuses on the imperfect subjunctive, all of said verbs will appear in one of the Spanish past tenses.

As you read the English translations, you might notice that while all of the Spanish sentences meet our aforementioned criteria for using the imperfect subjunctive, there is no "one size fits all" formula for translating this verb tense because it is used in a variety of different circumstances that call for varying verb tenses in English.  

1. Wishes

Verbs that describe our wishes, hopes, or desires call for the Spanish subjunctive and include desear (to want/wish/desire), esperar (to hope), exigir (to demand/require), insistir (to insist), mandar (to order), necesitar (to need), ordenar (to order), pedir (to ask), preferir (to prefer), and querer (to want). Let's take a look at two examples where said verbs in the Spanish imperfect tense prompt the use of the Spanish imperfect subjunctive:

que lo único que esperaba era que su madre pudiera acompañarlo a una presentación del colegio.

as the only thing he was hoping for was for his mother to be able to go with him to a school performance.

Captions 2-3, Confidencial: Asesino al Volante Capítulo 2 - Part 11

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Pero dijo que quería que fueran amigos.

But she said she wanted you guys to be friends.

Caption 55, Los Años Maravillosos Capítulo 11 - Part 4

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In these two examples, the English infinitives "to be" and "to be able" were used to translate the Spanish imperfect subjunctive because in English, we often say that we what we hoped was for something "to happen." However, in the first example "the only thing he was hoping for was that his mother could accompany him to a school performance" could be another viable/equivalent translation.

2.  Emotions

Emotional verbs like alegrarse (to be happy/glad), enojarse (to be/get angry), encantar (to delight), lamentar (to regret/be sorry), molestar (to bother), sentir (to be sorry), and sorprender (to surprise) also provoke the subjunctive. Let's see two examples of the imperfect subjunctive sparked by the imperfect and preterite tenses:

¿Y por eso te preocupaba tanto que él viniera a verme, que me contara algo?

And that's why it worried you so much that he'd come to see me, that he'd tell me something?

Caption 54, Yago 12 Fianza - Part 2

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No, me encantó que me llamaras, escucháme, eh...

No, I loved it that you called me; listen to me, um...

Caption 63, Muñeca Brava 2 Venganza - Part 3

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The first example describes one's past worry about what might happen (whether or not it did), and since in English, we often say we were worried about what "would happen," it was translated in this fashion. The second example, on the other hand, describes an action that actually took place: "you called". And yet, despite the necessary differences in the English translations, we see that in both cases, the use of an "emotional" verb in the first clause triggered the use of the Spanish imperfect subjunctive in the second. 

3. Impersonal Expressions

Impersonal expressions are constructions that don't involve any particular person and typically begin with the third person singular of some form of ser (to be) plus almost any adjective. Examples include bueno (good), curioso (interesting), dudoso (doubtful), extraño (strange), importante (important), necesario (necessary), probable (probable), raro (strange), urgente (urgent), and many more (the exception being adjectives that indicate certainty, such as cierto (certain) or seguro (sure). Let's see some examples of impersonal expressions in the imperfect tense that call for an imperfect subjunctive verb in the second clause:

Es que era muy raro que no abrieran la puerta.

It's just that it was very strange that they weren't opening the door.

Caption 20, Tu Voz Estéreo Embalsamado - Part 10

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Y para mí era bien importante que el grupo tuviera letras...

And it was really important to me that the band had lyrics...

Caption 61, La Gusana Ciega Entrevista - Part 1

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Again, the first caption describes an action that was actually happening (they weren't opening the door), while the second describes someone's past preference (which may or may not have come to fruition). Regardless, an impersonal expression in the imperfect tense triggered the use of the imperfect subjunctive. Note that an alternative translation for the second example might be: "And it was really important to me for the band to have lyrics."

4. Recommendations

Verbs that either recommend or don't recommend other actions, such as aconsejar (to advise), decir (to tell), dejar (to allow), exigir (to demand), hacer (to make/force), insistir (to insist), mandar (to order), ordenar (to order), prohibir (to forbid), proponer (to suggest), recomendar (to recommend), rogar (to beg), sugerir (to suggest), and suplicar (to beg) call for the subjunctive mood. Let's look at some examples in the preterite:

Le propuse que hiciéramos un pequeño taller de artesanía,

I suggested to him that we open a small craft studio,

Caption 40, Playa Adícora Francisco - Part 2

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Yo sé que les dijimos que no vinieran por acá pero

I know we told them not to come here, but

Caption 65, Confidencial: Asesino al Volante Capítulo 2 - Part 11

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Although we might find out later whether or not someone's advice was actually taken, in the moment it was given, the aforementioned "advising" verbs always trigger the Spanish imperfect subjunctive. 

5. Doubt/Denial

When conjugated in some form of the past, doubt verbs like dudar (to doubt), no creer (to not believe) or no poder creer (to not be able to believe), no parecer (to not seem), no pensar (to not think), and no suponer (to not suppose) call for the imperfect subjunctive:

Bueno, por un instante llegué a dudar de que estuvieras.

Well, for a moment, I even began to doubt that you would be [here].

Caption 41, Yago 4 El secreto - Part 11

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Yo no podía creer que me pasara que una chica así se me acercara

I couldn't believe this was happening to me that such a girl would approach me

Captions 7-8, Enanitos Verdes Cuánto Poder

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In these examples, past "doubt" causes the Spanish imperfect subjunctive, regardless of whether the situations were actually unfolding. The second example is interesting because it has been translated with both the past progressive "was happening" and the conditional "would approach" in English to represent that the speaker still can't believe such a situation "would happen" to him, even as it was. 

6. Ojalá

Although ojalá and ojalá que aren't technically verbs but rather conjunctions, they are roughly equivalent to such English expressions as "I hope," "let's hope," or "God willing" and require the subjunctive. When used with the imperfect subjunctive, these expressions are often to describe hypothetical situations that one wishes "were" true (interestingly, the change from "was" to "were" to represent a hypothetical situation is the only time we see a verb change in the subjunctive mood in English). Let's look at some examples:

No es crucial. Ojalá todos los problemas fueran estos.

It's not crucial. If only all problems were [like] these.

Caption 19, Cómetelo Crema de brócoli - Part 9

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Y ojalá todo el mundo estuviera lo suficientemente entusiasmado.

And I wish everyone were excited enough.

Caption 8, Club 10 Capítulo 1 - Part 1

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We hope that these examples have helped you to understand how to conjugate the Spanish imperfect subjunctive tense, some scenarios in which to use it, and some of the many ways in which it might be translated to English. In future lessons, we hope to focus on some additional, common uses of this tense, but in the meantime... don't forget to leave us your suggestions and comments. 

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The present subjunctive in Spanish is one of the many verb tenses in the Spanish subjunctive mood. The subjunctive mood is one of three moods in Spanish (the indicative, the imperative, and the subjunctive) that indicates the presence of doubt, emotion, or subjectivity, in contrast to the indicative, which states facts. The focus of today's lesson will be the conjugation of the Spanish present subjunctive tense. 

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An Example of the Present Subjunctive in Spanish: 

Before going on to conjugation, let's see an example of the present subjunctive in Spanish, which typically appears after the present indicative in dependent clauses connected by a coordinating conjunction such as que (that). As a simple example, if you say, "I hope [that] you practice at home" with ustedes (plural you) in Spanish, the correct manner of doing so would be

espero que practiquen en su casa

I hope you guys practice at home

Caption 60, Lecciones de guitarra Con Cristhian - Part 3

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rather than espero que practican en su casa because the verb tense changes from the indicative (practican) to the subjunctive (practiquen) due to the "hope" regarding whether the action will take place. In another lesson, we will explore the many scenarios in which the Spanish subjunctive mood comes into play. 

Conjugating Verbs in the Present Subjunctive in Spanish

The first step in conjugating most verbs in the present subjunctive is to recall the present indicative yo (I) form of the verb. We then remove the -o in order to get the stem and add the corresponding endings for -ar and -er/-ir verbs, which we can think of as the "opposite" of the endings for each verb class in the present indicative. 

Let's use the aforementioned formula to get the stems for three of the most common regular verbs:

Now, let's look at the present subjunctive endings for -ar vs. -er/-ir verbs: 

Armed with this information, we can easily conjugate these verbs in the present subjunctive in Spanish. You will note that in the present subjunctive, the yo form and the él/ella/usted form are exactly the same.

What is the present perfect tense in Spanish? Despite its name in English, the Spanish present perfect tense is actually one of the past tenses in Spanish, which indicates that one "has done" some action within some specific period of time. This lesson will examine how to conjugate this useful Spanish tense as well as providing examples of when to use it. 

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How to Conjugate the Spanish Present Perfect Tense 

The present perfect tense in Spanish is relatively easy to conjugate. To do so, we should remember a simple formula: haber in present tense + participle. Let's first take a look at the present conjugation of the verb haber, which corresponds to the English "has" or "have" in the present perfect:

Now, let's examine how to conjugate the participle form of verbs in Spanish, which corresponds to English words with endings like -ed or -en, such as "taken," "looked," "baked," etc.

Conjugating the participle with -ar verbs:

Take the infinitive, remove the -ar, and add the suffix -ado:

hablar: hablado (to talk/speak: talked/spoken)

mirar: mirado (to watch: watched)

comenzar: comenzado (to start/begin: started/begun)

bailar: bailado (to dance: danced)

Conjugating the participle with -er and -ir verbs: 

Take the infinitive, remove the -er or -ir, and add the suffix -ido:

comer: comido (to eat: eaten)

aprender: aprendido (to learn: learned)

recibir: recibido (to receive: received)

subir: subido (to rise/go up: risen/gone up) 

Irregular Participles: 

There are several irregular participle forms in Spanish that it would definitely be helpful to memorize. Here are several:

abrir: abierto (to open: opened)

cubrir: cubierto (to cover: covered)

decir: dicho (to say: said)

escribir: escrito (to write: written)

hacer: hecho (to do: done)

morir: muerto (to die: died)

poner: puesto (to put: put)

romper: roto (to break: broken)

resolver: resuelto (to resolve: resolved)

satisfacer: satisfecho (to satisfy: satisfied) 

ver: visto (to see: seen)

volver: vuelto (to return/returned)

Now that we know how to conjugate the auxiliary verb haber as well as the participle, we can conjugate verbs in and formulate sentences using the present perfect in Spanish. 

For example, if we wanted to say, "I have spoken," we'd take the form of the verb haber that corresponds with yo (he) and the participle of the verb hablar (to speak), hablado, to get: Yo he hablado. And, we could take hemos (we have) along with the irregular participle abierto (opened) to get Hemos abierto la puerta (We've opened the door).

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When to Use the Present Perfect in Spanish 

Ahora que hemos aprendido (Now that we've learned) how to conjugate verbs in the present perfect tense in Spanish, we should think about when to use it. Just like the present perfect in English, we use the Spanish present perfect to describe actions that have been completed within a certain period of time. As previously mentioned, because these actions were completed in the past, however recent, the present perfect is considered a past tense in Spanish, in which it is known as el pretérito perfecto (literally the "past" or "preterite perfect"). With this in mind, let's take a look at some examples:

Ya hemos visto que reciclar contribuye de forma importante,

We have already seen that recycling contributes in an important way,

Caption 23, 3R Campaña de reciclaje - Part 3

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¿Pero se han preguntado alguna vez cómo se cultivan y se comercializan?

But have you ever wondered how they are grown and sold?

Captions 75-76, 75 minutos Del campo a la mesa - Part 16

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Hoy ha llovido todo el día.

"Hoy ha llovido todo el día" [Today it has rained the whole day].

Caption 69, Carlos explica El pretérito Cap. 2: Perfecto compuesto I

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The examples above entail specific but different time periods. When the speaker says Ya hemos visto (We have already seen) in the first example, he is referring to us having already seen the importance of recycling in that video. In the second caption, the speaker asks if the people to whom he is speaking have ever (alguna vez) wondered, in their entire lives. And finally, this third example of the present perfect in Spanish explains what has happened that day.

It is important to note that while sentences in the present perfect often contain such references to the time period they describe as todo el día (all day), alguna vez (ever), ya (already), etc., this is not always the case. For example, in an effort to find out if "you have (ever) traveled to Spain," someone might simply ask: ¿Has viajado a España? 

Discrepancy Between the Spanish and English Present Perfect Tenses

Sometimes, Spanish speakers from Spain in particular use the present perfect to talk about actions in the recent past in situations in which English speakers would most likely use the past tense and Latin Americans would probably use the Spanish preterite. Let's look at an example:

Although the translators at Yabla opted to literally translate he dormido (I've slept) and he pasado (I've spent) with the present perfect in English, the English version sounds a bit awkward in this context because an English speaker would almost always say "I slept horribly. I had a bad night" when referring to the previous night. A Spanish-speaker from Central or South America, on the other hand, might say: "Dormí fatal. Pasé una mala noche" in the preterite. Let's look at another example: 

Pues nada, que ha empezado el día superbién, se ha levantado a las ocho, ha desayunado en la cafetería al lado de la escuela como siempre, ha venido a clase, hemos tenido la clase como todos los lunes.

Well, she's started the day very well, she's gotten up at eight, she's had breakfast in the cafeteria next to the school as always, she's come to class, we've had the class like every Monday.

Captions 6-10, El Aula Azul Conversación: Un día de mala suerte

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The caption above illustrates once again that, although the same is not true in English, when talking about the very recent past (typically the same day or perhaps the previous night), Spanish speakers from Spain are much more likely to employ the present perfect tense.

We hope that this lesson has made it clear how to conjugate and use the present perfect tense in Spanish. For further explanation and examples, check out Carlos' video on El pretérito compuesto, or "Compound perfect," which is yet another name for the present perfect in Spanish, and don't forget to leave us your suggestions and comments. 

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What are grammatical "moods"? Many definitions of grammatical moods in linguistics explain them as features of verbs that describe "modality." But, what is "modality"?

In a nutshell, "modality" refers to a speaker's attitude toward what he or she is saying, which might entail such concepts as possibility, probability, certainty or doubt. "Moods" are not the same as tenses, which convey when things happen, and each of the sixteen Spanish tenses fall into one of the three mood categories. That said, let's delve deeper into the three grammatical moods in Spanish: the indicative, the subjunctive, and the imperative.

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1. The Indicative Mood

Most simply put, the indicative mood describes facts, things about which the speaker is certain, or "the objective truth." Let's take a look at some examples of sentences with verbs in the indicative mood. 

Estoy seguro que voy a poder ayudarla en algo.

I'm sure that I am going to be able to help you with something.

Caption 7, Yago 9 Recuperación - Part 7

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This speaker says in the Spanish present indicative tense that he's seguro (sure) that he will be able to help the person to whom he's speaking. Such phrases referring to certainty like Estoy seguro que (I'm sure that) or even Yo creo que (I believe that) are tip-offs that the verb(s) that follow(s) will be in the indicative because they indicate conviction. However, many examples of verbs in the indicative mood in Spanish won't be quite so straightforward. 

Hablaremos sobre el candombe.

We'll talk about candombe.

Caption 11, Sonido Babel El candombe de Uruguay

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In this example of the future indicative tense in Spanish, the speaker states (with certainty) what it is he will talk about. Let's take a look at an additional example. 

¡Sí! Fuimos a buscar conchas pero no fue fácil encontrarlas.

Yes! We went to look for shells but it wasn't easy to find them.

Caption 13, Guillermina y Candelario El Manglar

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In this final example in the Spanish preterite tense, the speaker clearly states the objective truth about what happened in the past: Fuimos a buscar (We went to look for) seashells, and no fue (it wasn't) easy. Although whether or not something is easy is a subjective concept, it is important to remember that it is the speaker's attitude or belief about what he or she is stating that determines the mood. 

There are ten verb tenses in the Spanish indicative mood: the present, the imperfect, the preterite, the future, the simple conditional, the present perfect, the pluperfect, the past anterior, the conditional perfect, and the future perfect. For a closer look at each of these tenses with examples, we recommend this lesson on the Spanish indicative tenses. 

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2. The Subjunctive Mood

While the indicative conveys certainty and objectivity, the subjunctive conveys such opposing concepts as subjectivity, doubt, wishful thinking, hypothetical situations, and more. Let's take a look at some examples:

No, no, no. No creo que sea muy peligroso

No, no, no. I don't think he's very dangerous,

Caption 55, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa Capítulo 5 - Part 8

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Just like the expression Creo que (I believe that) lets you know that the following verb will be conjugated in the indicative, the phrase No creo que (I don't believe that) is an indicator for the subjunctive. Although we won't enter into verb conjugation in this lesson, we will say that verbs in the subjunctive mood are conjugated differently than in the indicative: for example, sea is the subjunctive conjugation of ser (to be) in third person singular and is thus used in place of the indicative form es. Let's take a look at another example:

de verdad, esperamos que te hayamos podido devolver la alegría.

we really hope that we've been able to give you back your joy.

Caption 58, Tu Voz Estéreo Laura - Part 17

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Here, the indicative present perfect form hemos podido (we've been able) has been replaced with the subjunctive present perfect, hayamos podido, because the speaker is expressing a hope that something has happened rather than stating that it actually has. Let's look at another example of the subjunctive mood in Spanish:

Si yo fuera un hombre, yo pensaría que las mujeres son complicadas.

If I were a man, I would think that women are complicated.

Caption 28, Conjugación El verbo 'pensar'

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This sentence employs a common construction that combines the imperfect subjunctive with the Spanish conditional tense to talk about what "would" happen "were" a hypothetical situation in place. 

Learning all of the situations and/or constructions that require the subjunctive mood in Spanish can be quite challenging for native English speakers since verbs in the subjunctive mood in English rarely change. As a guideline, statements in which the second verb in a construction changes to the subjunctive include wishes like deseo que (I wish that...), emotions like me alegro de que (I'm happy that...), impersonal expressions like es importante que (it's important that...), recommendations like sugiero que (I suggest that...), and doubts like dudo que (I doubt that...), just to name a few. 

The Spanish subjunctive mood encompasses six tenses: the present subjunctive, the imperfect subjunctive, the future subjunctive, the present perfect subjunctive, the pluperfect subjunctive, and the future perfect subjunctive, which are explained in greater detail in this lesson on the subjunctive tenses in Spanish that also touches on our third and final Spanish mood. 

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3. The Imperative Mood 

Understanding the speaker's "attitude" in the imperative mood is less nuanced: one is "ordering" or "commanding" someone else to do something:

¡Hazlo todo de nuevo!

Do it all over again!

Caption 32, Los Años Maravillosos Capítulo 3 - Part 7

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This is an example of a positive, informal command (with tú, or the singular, informal "you") in Spanish. Let's see another example:

Chicos, no me hagan esta broma tan pesada. 

Guys, don't play this very annoying joke on me.

Caption 49, Club 10 Capítulo 1 - Part 1

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Here, we see the negative command that corresponds to the pronoun ustedes (plural "you"). Let's check out one more:

We hope that this lesson has shed some light on the concept of the three grammatical "moods" in Spanish and would like to conclude it with an imperative sentence: No te olvides de dejarnos tus sugerencias y comentarios (Don't forget to leave us your suggestions and comments).

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The Spanish future tense is one of the most straightforward tenses in Spanish, both in terms of knowing when to use it and how to conjugate it. Let's take a closer look at this tense.

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What Is the Future Tense in Spanish?

The future tense in Spanish corresponds to the English construction with "will" plus a verb and is used to talk about actions that are slated to happen in the future or that someone has the intention to carry out. Simple English examples of this concept include: "Tomorrow, I will go to the store," or "Next week, it will rain." With this in mind, let's examine several examples of the future tense in Spanish:

y hoy les hablaré de una de mis pasiones:

and today, I'll talk to you about one of my passions:

Caption 4, Ana Carolina La meditación

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Yo creo que esto lo venderemos súper bien. 

I think we'll sell this one really well.

Caption 44, Santuario para burros Tienda solidaria

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El botón [sic] la ayudará con su equipaje y lo subirá en un par de minutos a la habitación.

The porter will help you with your luggage and will take it up to the room in a couple of minutes.

Captions 61-62, Cleer y Lida Recepción de hotel

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Note that as English "will" constructions are often expressed with contractions (the personal pronoun plus apostrophe double l, such as "I'll," "we'll," etc.), many Spanish future tense verbs can be translated to English in this less formal fashion.

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Conjugating the Future Tense in Spanish 

Conjugating most verbs in the future tense in Spanish is quite simple. You just take the verb's infinitive ("to" form) in its entirety and add the corresponding future tense ending. So, using the verbs in our previous examples, we'd start with their infinitive forms: hablar (to talk), vender (to sell), ayudar (to help), and subir (to take up). You will note that these infinitive verbs fall into all three infinitive verb categories: -ar, -er, and -ir. 

Step two of the process of conjugating Spanish future tense verbs is to memorize the quite simple endings that correspond to their personal pronouns, which are as follows:

Armed with this information, let's conjugate some future tense verbs using different verbs and personal pronouns than the examples above.

1. Suppose we want to say that more than one person "will see" something (with the personal pronoun ustedes, or plural "you"). We would take the infinitive verb ver (to see) and add the appropriate ending (-án) to get verán:

Mañana ustedes verán si nos... si nos medimos a ese, a ese reto.

Tomorrow you guys will see if we... if we measure up to that, to that challenge.

Captions 36-37, Festivaliando Mono Núñez - Part 13

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2. Now, let's imagine that you want to tell more than one person in a familiar environment what they'll "need." Oh— and you're in Spain, where the personal pronouns vosotros/as are the way to address more than one person as "you" informally. We'd take the verb for "to need" (necesitar) and the corresponding ending -éis to get necesitaréis:

Para empezar a hacer la tortilla española, necesitaréis los siguientes ingredientes:

To start to make the Spanish tortilla, you'll need the following ingredients:

Captions 8-9, Clara cocina Una tortilla española

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3. And finally, what if you would like to say with the tú (informal "you") form to someone what he or she "will discover"? You'd start with the verb descubrir (to discover) and add the -ás ending that goes with tú to get descubrirás:

Pronto lo descubrirás

Soon you'll discover it

Caption 68, X6 1 - La banda - Part 2

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Irregular Verbs in the Spanish Future Tense

As with all Spanish verb tenses, there are some irregular verbs in the future tense in Spanish, many of which are extremely common. That said, it would behoove you to memorize the following stems, which are used in lieu of these verbs' infinitives to conjugate the "top twelve" irregular future tense verbs in Spanish: 

Now, let's conjugate a few of these irregular Spanish future tense verbs: 

1. How would we express "I'll say" in Spanish? Rather than the infinitive, we'd take the aforementioned stem for the Spanish verb decir, -dir, and add the ending that corresponds with yo (I), or -é, to get diré:

Primero, diré el verbo en infinitivo,

First, I'll say the verb in the infinitive,

Caption 38, Carlos explica El modo imperativo 1: Tú + vos

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2. How would we say "you'll have" in Spanish? Take the stem of the irregular verb tener (to have), tendr-, and add the ending for tú (you), -ás, to get: tendrás.

Sí, después de las clases en grupo, tendrás media hora de descanso

Yes, after the group classes, you'll have a half hour break

Caption 27, El Aula Azul Las actividades de la escuela - Part 1

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3. And finally, what if want to express that "we'll be able" to do something? We'll take podr-, the stem for the verb for "to be able" (poder), and add the ending for nosotros/as, -emos, to come up with podremos:

Con un poco de práctica, podremos aprender estas reglas muy fácilmente.

With a bit of practice, we will be able to learn these rules very easily.

Caption 55, Carlos explica Acentuación Cap. 3: La división en sílabas - Part 1

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An Alternative Use for the Future Tense

Although the translations for Spanish verbs conjugated in the Spanish future tense almost always involve the word "will," the future tense in Spanish can occasionally be used to express doubt or disbelief, and, in such cases, corresponds more closely with the English concepts of "would," "could," "might," or "may."  Such cases are typically quite clear from their contexts as inserting the word "will" would seem nonsensical. Let's take a look at a couple of examples: 

¿No tendrás unos pesitos para mí?

You wouldn't have a few pesos for me?

Caption 23, Muñeca Brava 8 Trampas - Part 14

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Favio, ¿dónde estarás?

Favio, where could you be?

Caption 44, Yago 1 La llegada - Part 7

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Having said that, in the vast majority of the cases you will come across, the future tense in Spanish can be translated with "will." 

We hope you've enjoyed this lesson on the future tense in Spanish. If you are interested in verb tenses, we recommend you check out our lessons on all of the Spanish verb tenses, beginning with the indicative verb tenses in Spanish and moving on to the Spanish subjunctive tenses. And, for an even deeper look into the future tense in Spanish with a plethora of example sentences, we recommend you check out this extended lesson by Javi on the future tense in Spanish as well as this lesson on an alternative to the Spanish future tense. 

That's all for today! Don't forget to leave us your suggestions and comments, and estaremos en contacto (we'll be in touch).

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Just when you thought you'd memorized the meanings of a bunch of infinitive verbs (their "to" forms, like saber (to know), poder (to be able), etc.), you find out that there are some verbs that actually change meanings from one tense to another! Verbs that mean one thing in tenses like the Spanish present indicative tense and the imperfect tense in Spanish but change meaning in the Spanish preterite tense will be the focus of today's lesson. 

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What Is the Spanish Preterite Tense?

In a nutshell, there are two "main" past tenses in Spanish: the imperfect tense in Spanish, which is used to describe past actions that were ongoing, in progress, or interrupted, and the Spanish preterite tense, which describes completed past actions. As we mentioned, as the meaning of some Spanish verbs actually changes in the preterite tense in Spanish, let's take a look at some examples of several of these verbs and their translations in the present, the imperfect, and, finally, the preterite, via examples from Yabla Spanish's video library. 

Spanish Verbs That Change Meaning in the Preterite Tense 

1. Conocer (to know)

Let's take a look at some examples of the Spanish verb conocer in the present and imperfect tenses:

Present Tense:

porque conozco un sitio muy bueno y podemos ir.

because I know a very good place and we can go.

Caption 67, Cleer Entrevista a Giluancar

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Imperfect Tense:

Pablo Escobar conocía La Catedral como la palma de la mano,

Pablo Escobar knew La Cathedral like the back of his hand

Caption 42, Los Tiempos de Pablo Escobar Capítulo 2 - Part 6

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In both the Spanish present indicative and the imperfect tense, the Spanish verb conocer means "to know" in the sense of "being familiar with." However, in the preterite tense, the Spanish verb conocer has a different meaning. Let's take a look:

Preterite Tense:

Cuando yo conocí a mi esposa, hace nueve años, la primera cosa yo le dije a ella, te... tú vas a ser la mamá de mis hijas.

When I met my wife, nine years ago, the first thing I said to her, you... you are going to be the mom of my daughters.

Captions 52-54, La Sub30 Familias - Part 4

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As you can see in this example, as the preterite tense in Spanish limits an action to a specific moment in time, the meaning of the Spanish verb conocer changes to "to meet" in the Spanish preterite tense. 

2. Poder (to be able)

The Spanish verb poder means "to be able," in the sense of "can" in the present or "could" in the past. Let's see some examples:

Present Tense:

Detrás de mí podemos observar la ciudad antigua

Behind me, we can observe the old city

Caption 11, Ciudad de Panamá Denisse introduce la ciudad

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Imperfect Tense:

Yo pensé que podía saltar muy alto.

I thought I could jump really high.

Caption 14, Guillermina y Candelario Una Amiga muy Presumida - Part 2

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So, how does the meaning of the Spanish verb poder transform in the preterite?

Preterite Tense:

Es que no entiendo cómo pudo entrar aquí.

It's just that I don't understand how he managed to get in here.

Caption 20, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa Capítulo 2 - Part 8

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Although "It's just that I don't understand how he was able to get in here" could also be a viable translation, in some contexts, this English rendition would not make it clear whether someone actually did something or merely had the ability to do so. Hence, the important thing to remember when the Spanish verb poder is conjugated in the Spanish preterite tense is that it ceases to describe merely the potential for something to happen and states that it actually did. "To manage" (to do something) is thus a common translation for the Spanish verb poder in the preterite tense that makes this distinction clear. 

3. No poder (to not be able)

The meaning of no poder in both the present and imperfect tenses in Spanish is pretty straightforward: "to not be able to," in other words, "can't" in the present and "couldn't" in the (imperfect) past:

Present Tense:

¿Cómo que no pueden hacer nada? ¿Cómo que no pueden hacer nada más?

What do you mean you can't do anything? What do you mean you can't do anything else?

Caption 17, Yago 3 La foto - Part 2

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Imperfect Tense:

Y no podía estudiar.

And I couldn't study.

Caption 1, Los Años Maravillosos Capítulo 5 - Part 3

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So, what about the preterite? If we know that the preterite form of the Spanish verb poder means "to manage to" do something, it follows that the preterite form of no poder can mean "to not manage to," or, better yet, "to fail to" to do something.

Preterite Tense:

Si usted no pudo controlar su matrimonio ¿cómo va a controlar y dirigir y manejar el interés público?

If you failed to control your marriage, how are you going to control and direct and manage public interest?

Captions 58-59, Muñeca Brava 43 La reunión - Part 3

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While we might alternatively translate "si usted no pudo controlar su matrimonio" as "you couldn't control your marriage" or "you weren't able to control your marriage," the important thing to remember is that the verb poder in the preterite means that something in the past was attempted but did not come to fruition.

4. Saber (to know)

The Spanish verb saber typically means "to know" (in the sense of facts or information) in the present, imperfect, etc.:

Present Tense:

No es información nueva, y ellas lo saben.

It's not new information, and they know it.

Caption 7, Clase Aula Azul Información con subjuntivo e indicativo - Part 3

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Imperfect Tense:

Sí. Si algo sabíamos era que la plata no crece en los árboles.

Yes. If we knew anything, it was that money didn't grow on trees.

Caption 28, Los Años Maravillosos Capítulo 10 - Part 2

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However, because the preterite tense in Spanish narrows the timeline of such "knowing" down to a specific moment, the meaning of the Spanish verb saber transforms, in the preterite tense, from "to know" to "to find out":

Preterite Tense:

A tal punto que yo me alegré mucho, mucho, cuando supe que ibas a pasar veinticinco años en la cárcel.

To the point that I was very happy, very, when I found out you were going to spend twenty-five years in prison.

Captions 56-57, Yago 14 La peruana - Part 1

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5. Tener (to have)

The verb tener in Spanish means "to have" in most tenses, as in the following excerpts:

Present Tense:

Todas las estaciones tienen sus ventajas.

All of the seasons have their advantages.

Caption 42, Clara explica El tiempo - Part 2

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Imperfect Tense:

Tenía una casa pues, amueblada de cuatrocientos metros

I had a, well, furnished, four-hundred meter house,

Caption 79, 75 minutos Gangas para ricos - Part 8

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And, although the meaning of the Spanish verb tener doesn't always change in the preterite, it sometimes takes on the meaning of "to receive" or "to get," as in the case of: Tuve una carta (I got a letter). Let's look at an additional example:

Preterite Tense:

Y bueno, ahí tuve otras proposiciones, que no eran tampoco un sueño, pero eran mucho más interesantes que lo que tenía en Cuba,

And well, there, I got other proposals, which weren't a dream either, but they were much more interesting than what I had in Cuba,

Captions 49-51, Orishas Entrevista Canal Plus

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6. Querer (to want) 

The verb querer in Spanish most often means "to want." Let's see it in action:

Present Tense:

Amigos de Yabla, hoy los queremos invitar a aprender español

Friends of Yabla, today we want to invite you to learn Spanish

Captions 1-2, El Hatillo, Caracas, Venezuela El cuatro

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Imperfect Tense:

Yo de niña pensaba que quería ser bailarina. ¿Qué pensabas tú?

As a little girl I thought that I wanted to be a dancer. What did you think?

Caption 20, Conjugación El verbo 'pensar'

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In the preterite tense, however, the Spanish verb querer "puts a limit" on this past "wanting" and becomes a manner of saying that someone "tried" to do something:

Preterite Tense:

Yo quise ser su amiga, pero no me dejó.

I tried to be his friend, but he didn't let me.

Caption 38, Guillermina y Candelario Un marciano en la playa - Part 1

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7. No querer (to not want) 

In our first two tenses, the Spanish verb phrase no querer means exactly what it sounds like: "to not want." Let's examine some clips that demonstrate this construction in the present and imperfect:

Present Tense:

Es que yo no quiero vivir en el centro.

The thing is, I don't want to live in the downtown area.

Caption 71, El Aula Azul La Doctora Consejos: Subjuntivo y persona ideal

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Imperfect Tense:

y en un principio le dije que no quería tener un gato en casa.

and at first, I told her I didn't want to have a cat in my home.

Caption 32, Fermín y los gatos Mi gata Poeska

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The preterite form of the Spanish verb querer, on the other hand, means that someone not only "didn't want" to do something at a specific point in the past, they actually didn't (or "wouldn't"):

mi otra hermana, Zoraida Zárraga, mi sobrino, Harold Blanco, que no quisieron presentarse por temor a cámara.

my other sister, Zoraida Zarraga, my nephew, Harold Blanco, who refused to appear due to camera shyness.

Captions 11-13, Coro, Venezuela Relaciones familiares

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So, we see that the meaning of the verb no querer in Spanish can sometimes become to "to refuse" in the preterite tense. 

We hope that this lesson has edified you regarding the alternative meanings of some Spanish verbs when they are conjugated in the preterite tense. Can you think of any we missed?  Don't forget to tell us with your suggestions and comments. 

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