Easy Guide to the WEIRDO Subjunctive (2023)

FAQs

What is the subjunctive weirdo rule? ›

The acronym WEIRDO stands for: Wishes, Emotions, Impersonal expressions, Recommendations, Doubt/Denial, and Ojalá.

What's WEIRDO? WEIRDO is an acronym that designates the verbs that introduce the subjunctive mood. It's a method that helps you remember six situations when you should use the subjunctive.

The amusing acronym W.E.I.R.D.O., which stands for Wishes, Emotions, Impersonal Expressions, Recommendations, Doubt/Denial, and Ojalá, can help you to remember several contexts that require the subjunctive.

The subjunctive form is the verb form used to explore a hypothetical situation (for example, If I were you) or to express a wish, a demand, or a suggestion (For example, I demand he be present). These are auxiliary or additional verbs that express necessity or possibility.

The subjunctive mood expresses wishes, suggestions, demands, or desires in a sentence with usually two clauses, with a verb such as wish (or suggest, demand, etc.) in one clause and a second verb in the subjunctive mood. In the sentence 'I wish I were the president' the verb 'were' is in the subjunctive mood.

Examples: Sentences in the subjunctive mood I demand that everyone have an opportunity to speak. Sharon insisted that she be notified of any problems. If Jane were here, she could tell us what to do. Note The subjunctive mood is less common in UK English than US English.

The English subjunctive is a relatively rare verb form that expresses something desired or imagined (i.e., I insist that he come). In other words, the subjunctive isn't used nearly as much in English as it is in Spanish, which means that, it will, unfortunately, never come naturally to us angloparlantes.

The subjunctive mood is typically used in 'that' clauses that follow these structures: suggesting verb or noun +that. advise, ask, command, demand, desire, insist, prefer, recommend, request.

The subjunctive exists in four tenses: the present, imperfect, perfect and pluperfect. It occurs in both the active and passive voice. In addition to this, the endings of subjunctive verbs can alter across the conjugations.

What are the 4 types of subjunctive Spanish? ›

The 4 subjunctive tenses that we will cover are the present subjunctive, the imperfect (past) subjunctive, the present perfect subjunctive, and the pluperfect subjunctive.

What is the Spanish subjunctive? In a nutshell, the subjunctive in Spanish is a way of using verbs to describe “virtual information”. In other words, our emotional perception, bias or attitude towards something, rather than just stating a fact. And here's the really interesting bit: it's a mood, not a tense.

What Is a Subjunctive Trigger? Subjunctive triggers are words that force the verb in a sentence to be used in its subjunctive form. Sometimes, these subjunctive triggers already contain the subjunctive verb within them. In other words, when you see one of these subjunctive triggers, you must use the subjunctive.

The subjunctive mood is a form of a verb used to express statements that are imagined or contrary to the fact (If I were a millionaire, I would buy my parents a house). It's also used to convey a wish or request (I wish that my best friend were still living in the same city as me).

Often, the easiest way to quickly understand the subjunctive in Spanish is by comparing it with similar examples in the indicative mood. Check out the following four pairs of example sentences to compare the Spanish present indicative vs the present subjunctive. Indicative: Yo soy doctora.

In Spanish the subjunctive is used after certain verbs and conjunctions when two parts of a sentence have different subjects. Tengo miedo de que le ocurra algo. I'm afraid something may (subjunctive) happen to him.

Verbs that often (but not always) are followed by a verb in the subjunctive include: advise, insist, propose, require, ask, intend, recommend, suggest, demand, order, regret, urge, desire, prefer, request, and wish.

We typically use the subjunctive after verbs such as recommend / suggest / propose / insist / demand / ask or phrases such as it is essential / vital / necessary that… I suggest that he examine the proposal carefully. They demanded that he leave immediately.

In most cases, the subjunctive form of a verb is usually the third-person form of the verb with the ‑s dropped, but the verb to be is a special case. The subjunctive is used after certain expressions that contain an order or a request, a hypothetical, or a wish.

How do you write a subjunctive sentence? ›

Subjunctive tenses

This kind of sentence uses the verb were to establish the hypothetical, in addition to sometimes using another verb in its bare form: I wish I were taller. If she were taller, she would go on all the rides.

Today, we will look at the Irregular verbs dar, estar, haber, ir, saber and ser.

In English, the present subjunctive functions independently of time. It is formed by taking the infinitive form of the verb and removing to. Bruno asked that everyone be on time. I prefer that he go alone.

That's because the English subjunctive is pretty weak. It can be used in counterfactual situations, but it generally isn't required. Because it's optional and subtle (it looks just like the plural indicative forms of most verbs), it's no surprise it's disappearing.

We always use subjunctive in phrases with two subjects. Generally, these phrases follow the sequence: Verb 1 + QUE + Verb 2 (in Subjunctive).

We refer to the subjunctive not as a tense, but as a mood. Whereas in foreign languages, such as French, Spanish, and Italian, the subjunctive mood comprises a completely different set of verb forms and spellings from the indicative forms, in English the difference is hardly tangible.

The Imperfect Subjunctive is triggered with a preterite, imperfect, conditional, or past perfect WEIRDO verbs in the independent clause. (If you need a quick refresher on this topic, check out “An Easy Guide to the WEIRDO Subjunctive”.) For example: Quería que me hicieras un café.

There are 6 irregular verbs in the present subjunctive tense; dar, ir, ser, haber, estar, saber. Although this seems a lot to remember, an easy way to remember which verbs are irregular in the subjunctive is by using the acronym DISHES.

To form the present subjunctive of most verbs, take off the -o ending of the yo form of the present simple, and add a fixed set of endings. For -ar verbs, the endings are: -e, -es, -e, -emos, -éis, -en.

Does para que require the subjunctive? Yes, para que requires the subjunctive: Por ejemplo … Para que sepas bien, te lo explico otra vez.

What is the subjunctive weirdo in Spanish? ›

The acronym WEIRDO stands for Wishes, Emotions, Impersonal Expressions, Recommendations, Doubt/Denial, and Ojalá, which are all situations in which you're likely to use the subjunctive.

English does have subjunctive, but the verbs don't change so we as English speakers don't even know what it is or when we are using it. Because of this, learning the subjunctive is one of the most difficult parts of Spanish to master.

For most verbs, the present subjunctive is formed by dropping the -o ending from the first person singular yo of the present indicative and adding the present subjunctive endings. The present subjunctive endings are different for –ar verbs (–e, -es, -e, -emos, -en) and –er/-ir verbs (–a, -as, -a, -amos, -an).

¡(No) Quiero que te vayas!

Like espero + que also quiero + que is one of the best examples of the subjunctive in Spanish. It expresses a wish, an order, or a desire. The verb that follows is always in the subjunctive mood.

It expresses a condition that must be fulfilled in the future, or is assumed to be fulfilled, before an event can happen. Spanish and English will use the present tense in this type of clause.

The subjunctive form (or subjunctive mood) is a verb form which shows things that could or should happen. You use it to show things like hopes, dreams, demands and suggestions.

For most verbs, the present subjunctive is formed by dropping the -o ending from the first person singular yo of the present indicative and adding the present subjunctive endings. The present subjunctive endings are different for –ar verbs (–e, -es, -e, -emos, -en) and –er/-ir verbs (–a, -as, -a, -amos, -an).

In most cases, the subjunctive form of a verb is usually the third-person form of the verb with the ‑s dropped, but the verb to be is a special case. The subjunctive is used after certain expressions that contain an order or a request, a hypothetical, or a wish.

The subjunctive mood can be found in sentences that have two (or more) verbs; the first verb is in the indicative mood and introduces the notion of a wish/request/desire/order. Once the context is in place, the verb that follows is in the subjunctive mood.

What are the three steps to form the subjunctive? ›

Look at the sentence: is it talking about something that's factual, or are you expressing doubt or uncertainty? Your clue will be the first verb or expression that comes before the que. It will determine whether you have to use the subjunctive for the second verb that comes after que.

The subjunctive mood often pairs singular subjects with what we usually think of as plural verbs. The subjunctive is often used in “that,” “if,” and “wish” clauses. Examples: She requested that he raise his hand.

The following verbs often attract the subjunctive mood: "to command," "to order," "to wish," "to suggest," "to recommend," "to ask," "to insist," and "to demand."