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Exercises
Turn the indicative sentences into subjunctive sentences.
Use the same words as in the indicative sentence.
- Pienso que Paco se disgusta con todo.
No pienso que Paco .verb of thought in the negative + que + subjuntivoI (don’t) think that Paco gets annoyed about everything.
- Creo que el paquete llegó a tiempo.
No creo que el paquete .verb of thought in the negative + que + subjuntivoI (don’t) think that the parcel arrived on time.
- Te aseguro que a estas horas Maribel ya habrá acabado.
No te aseguro que .verb of speech in the negative + que + subjuntivoI can(not) assure you that Maribel will be done by this time.
- De haberlo sabido, habría llegado antes.
De no haberlo sabido, .verb of speech in the negative + que + subjuntivoIf I had (not) known that, I would have come sooner.
- ¿Estás seguro de que el tren llegaba hoy?
¿No estás seguro de que ?verb of speech in the negative + que + subjuntivoAre you (not) sure that the train is supposed to arrive today?
Type in the correct form of the subjunctive.
- Me (gustar) poder haber ido contigo.action that did not take place in the past → pretérito pluscuamperfecto subjuntivoI would have liked to be able to go with you.
- Voy a quedarme un rato más a pesar de que ya (ser) la hora.the indicative action expresses a continuation of the current action, the subjunctive action also indicates the present → presente subjuntivoI will stay a little bit longer, even if it’s getting late.
- Seguro que le dejaron entrar al examen aunque no (llegar) a tiempo.the indicative action takes place in the place, arriving and being let in happen basically simultaneously → pretérito imperfectoSurely they let him in for the exam, even if he didn’t arrive on time.
- Si antes (hacer/nosotros) las cosas bien, ahora no tendríamos ningún problema.action that did not take place in the past → pretérito pluscuamperfecto subjuntivoIf we had done things correctly at first, we wouldn’t have a problem now.
- Mientras no te (comer) todo, no te levantarás de la mesa.the verb in the indicative clause is in the future, the subjunctive action has to have been completed first (anteriority) → pretérito perfectoAs long as you haven’t eaten everything, you won’t get up from the table.
Complete the sentences using the correct form of the verbs in brackets. Decide if you need to use the indicative or the subjunctive.
- Ricardo: La semana pasada (encontrarse) con Pablo en la Plaza Mayor.action did actually take place → indicative|signal: la semana pasada → pretérito indefinidoLast week I met Pablo at the Plaza Mayor. Tú también le (ver) si aquel día me (acompañar) a la academia.unreal conditional|1. condicional compuesto|2. pretérito pluscuamperfecto subjuntivoYou would have seen him too, had you accompanied me to the academy on that day.
- Carolina: ¿Y qué tal (estar) Pablo?asking about a current state → presente indicativoAnd how is Pablo? Tengo entendido que por fin (terminar) sus estudios y que (trabajar) en el extranjero en un par de meses.1. completed past action → pretérito indefinido or pretérito perfecto|2. future action → futuro simple or futuro próximo or verbal periphrasis mit iba a + infinitive (indicates a plan)I heard that he’s finally finished his degree and that he’s going to work abroad in a few months.
- Ricardo: Sí, y eso a pesar de que (tardar) tanto en terminarlos.a pesar de que can be followed the subjunctive or the indicative|there are therefore 3 possible solutions: 1. pretérito imperfecto subjuntivo|2. pretérito perfecto subjuntivo|3. pretérito perfecto indicativoYes, even though it took him so long to finish it. Todavía (recordar/yo) cuando nosotros (estudiar) durante toda la noche en la época de exámenes.actions did actually take place → indicative|1. action in the present → presente indicativo|2. repeated past action (used to) → pretérito imperfectoI can still remember how we used to study all night during exam season. Seguro que las clases intensivas de los últimos años (servir) para algo.seguro que → indicative|3 possible solutions: 1. pretérito indefinido|pretérito perfecto|3. futuro perfecto (as a supposition about the past = … will have done their job.)I’m sure that those intense classes over the last few years did their job.
- Carolina: ¡Es cierto, no (acordarse/yo) !emphasises that the event had been forgotten for a longer period of time → pretérito imperfectoThat’s true, I had forgotten that. (literally: …, I didn’t remember.) Últimamente, nosotros sólo (recibir/nosotros) malas noticias y ya (ser) hora de que (traer/tú) también buenas.1. signal: últimamente) → pretérito perfecto|2. set phrase: Era hora de que → pretérito imperfecto|3. the verb in the main clause is in a past tense and the action in the subjunctive takes place at the same time → pretérito imperfecto subjuntivoLately we’ve only had bad news, so it’s about time that you bring us some good news. (Tener/nosotros) que llamarle este fin de semana para celebrarlo.action in the future, we can use two possible tenses here → presente or futuro simpleWe should call him this weekend to celebrate.
- Ricardo: Claro que sí. Me alegro de que Pablo (acabar) la carrera.Me alegro que + subjunctive|2 possible solutions: pretérito imperfecto subjuntivo or pretérito perfecto subjuntivoYes, definitely. I’m glad that Pablo finished his degree. No creo que (haber) una persona más perseverante que él.No creo que + subjunctive|action in the present → presente subjuntivoI don’t think there is anyone more determined than him. Si no le (conocer) , yo también le (dar) una oportunidad en mi empresa.hypoethical|1. pretérito imperfecto subjuntivo|2. 2 possible solutions: referring to the present (would give him) → condicional simple|or referring to the past (would have given him) → pretérito pluscuamperfecto subjuntivoEven if I didn’t know him, I would give/would have given him a chance in my company.
