Imperfecto de Subjuntivo: How to Form It in Spanish?
The imperfecto de subjuntivo (Spanish imperfect subjunctive) expresses wishes, doubts, unreal conditions or hypothetical past actions. It's one of the most used subjunctive tenses in Spanish.
- Past wish: Quería que vinieras conmigo. (I wanted you to come with me.)
- Unreal condition: Si tuviera tiempo, viajaría más. (If I had time, I would travel more.)
- Politeness: Quisiera un café, por favor. (I would like a coffee, please.)
Practice Imperfecto de Subjuntivo
What is the imperfecto de subjuntivo used for?
It's used to express hypothetical, unreal or subjective actions in the past or in conditions contrary to fact. It also appears in subordinate clauses when the main verb is in the past or conditional.
- After verbs of wish, doubt or emotion in the past: Esperaba que llegaras pronto. (I hoped you would arrive soon.)
- Unreal conditional sentences: Si fuera rico, compraría una casa. (If I were rich, I would buy a house.)
- Polite formulas: Pudiera usted ayudarme? (Could you help me?)
- After como si: Habla como si supiera todo. (He talks as if he knew everything.)
How is the imperfecto de subjuntivo formed?
It's built from the third person plural of the pretérito indefinido (ellos form): drop the -ron ending and add -ra, -ras, -ra, -´ramos, -rais, -ran. The endings are the same for all three groups (-ar, -er, -ir).
Watch out: the nosotros form has a written accent on the vowel before -ramos: habláramos, comiéramos, viviéramos, fuéramos, dijéramos.
| Person | hablar (-ar) | comer (-er) | vivir (-ir) |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | hablara | comiera | viviera |
| tú | hablaras | comieras | vivieras |
| él / ella / usted | hablara | comiera | viviera |
| nosotros | habláramos | comiéramos | viviéramos |
| vosotros | hablarais | comierais | vivierais |
| ellos / ustedes | hablaran | comieran | vivieran |
What's the difference between the -ra and -se forms?
The imperfecto de subjuntivo has two equivalent forms: one ends in -ra (hablara, comiera) and the other in -se (hablase, comiese). Both are accepted by the RAE and mean the same thing.
| Person | -ra form | -se form |
|---|---|---|
| yo | hablara | hablase |
| tú | hablaras | hablases |
| él | hablara | hablase |
| nosotros | habláramos | hablásemos |
| vosotros | hablarais | hablaseis |
| ellos | hablaran | hablasen |
Today the -ra form is more common, especially in Latin America and spoken Spanish. The -se form is more frequent in literary or formal texts. In our app we train only the -ra form.
Which verbs are irregular in the imperfecto de subjuntivo?
All irregularities of the pretérito indefinido are inherited automatically in this tense. If the 3rd person plural of the indefinido is irregular, so is the imperfecto de subjuntivo.
| Infinitive | ellos (indefinido) | yo (impf. subj.) | nosotros |
|---|---|---|---|
| ser / ir | fueron | fuera | fuéramos |
| estar | estuvieron | estuviera | estuviéramos |
| tener | tuvieron | tuviera | tuviéramos |
| hacer | hicieron | hiciera | hiciéramos |
| poder | pudieron | pudiera | pudiéramos |
| poner | pusieron | pusiera | pusiéramos |
| saber | supieron | supiera | supiéramos |
| querer | quisieron | quisiera | quisiéramos |
| venir | vinieron | viniera | viniéramos |
| haber | hubieron | hubiera | hubiéramos |
| dar | dieron | diera | diéramos |
| ver | vieron | viera | viéramos |
| decir | dijeron | dijera | dijéramos |
| traer | trajeron | trajera | trajéramos |
| producir | produjeron | produjera | produjéramos |
-ir verbs with vowel change
- e → i: pedir → pidieron → pidiera, pidiéramos
- o → u: dormir → durmieron → durmiera, durmiéramos
Verbs with i → y change (hiato)
- leer → leyeron → leyera, leyéramos
- oír → oyeron → oyera, oyéramos
- caer → cayeron → cayera, cayéramos
- creer → creyeron → creyera, creyéramos
Verbs with -j stem
Verbs whose indefinido stem ends in -j (decir, traer, -ducir) drop the i of the ending: dijera (not dijiera), trajera, produjera.
When is the imperfecto de subjuntivo used in conditional sentences?
The imperfecto de subjuntivo is essential in unreal conditionals of the type «Si + imperfecto de subjuntivo, condicional».
- Si tuviera dinero, viajaría. (If I had money, I would travel.)
- Si fueras más amable, te ayudarían. (If you were nicer, they would help you.)
- Si pudiera volar, te visitaría hoy. (If I could fly, I'd visit you today.)
- Si supieras la verdad, te asustarías. (If you knew the truth, you'd be frightened.)
Want to practice the imperfecto de subjuntivo? In our app you can conjugate regular and irregular verbs with interactive exercises and learn to use the -ra form correctly.