📖LearnModule 10 · Lesson 12 of 30Independent User · CEFR B1 + B2 mastery, and the C1 bridgeUnit 3 · El subjuntivo, el mapa completo
¿Subjuntivo o indicativo?
Module 10 of the free Spanish course (CEFR B1 + B2 mastery, and the C1 bridge), lesson 12 of 30: One test settles it: am I ASSERTING this. On this page: 8 words with their genders and respellings, the rule, a watch-out line, the conjugation table and the audio — the study notes behind the workbook's QR.
The words
Spanish
English
Say it
sé que viene
I know he is coming
seh keh BYEH-neh
espero que venga
I hope he comes
ehs-PEH-roh keh BEHN-gah
esperar
to hope (and to wait)
ehs-peh-RAR
mantener a distancia
to hold at a distance
mahn-teh-NEHR ah dees-TAHN-syah
la afirmación
the assertion
lah ah-feer-mah-SYOHN
la prueba
the proof
lah PRWEH-bah
zanjar
to settle a question
sahn-HAR
famoso
famous (m)
fah-MOH-soh
Respellings follow the course’s say-it key; the stressed syllable is in capitals. Print this lesson’s flashcards (PDF) — the words on the front, the English and respelling on the back.
La regla · The rule
One test settles it: am I ASSERTING this, or am I holding it at a distance? Sé que viene (asserted, indicative). Espero que venga (held away, subjunctive). Notice esperar: in Spanish, hope is a wish, and it takes the subjunctive — unlike its French cousin.
Y también · And also
Watch what a negative does. Creo que tiene razón becomes no creo que tenga razón — negating the belief moves the fact into doubt, and the mood follows. The test never changes: real and asserted, indicative; wished, doubted or felt, subjunctive.
Ojo · Watch out
esperar que takes the SUBJUNCTIVE: espero que venga — a hope is a wish. And a negative moves the mood: no creo que tenga razón. Real and asserted, indicative; wished or doubted, subjunctive.
venir, presente de subjuntivo — the table
yo venga · tú vengas · él/ella/usted venga · nosotros vengamos · ustedes vengan · ellos/ellas vengan
Do it now — on paper
Say all 8 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the Spanish spelling alone — begin with sé que viene.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the Spanish.
Write out venir, presente de subjuntivo in full from memory, every person, and check each form against the table above.
This free course is the reading half. The writing half — write-in lessons, daily practice pages with built-in review, self-checks and a full answer key — is the companion workbook series, The Spanish Ladder: one workbook per module, fifteen in all, released band by band with the Basic band (Modules 1–5) first.
Keep these words
Turn this lesson’s words into flashcards, then space your reviews — the two habits the research behind our study guides backs hardest.