📖LearnModule 11 · Lesson 8 of 30Proficient User · CEFR C1, first halfUnit 2 · El subjuntivo, dominado
Los subjuntivos irregulares
Module 11 of the free Spanish course (CEFR C1, first half), lesson 8 of 30: The irregular present subjunctive follows the yo-form: traigo gives que traiga, oigo que oiga. On this page: 10 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
que yo oiga
that I hear
keh yoh OY-gah
donde quepa
wherever it fits
DOHN-deh KEH-pah
que conduzca
that he drives
keh kohn-DOOS-kah
traer
to bring
trah-EHR
caber
to fit
kah-BEHR
conducir
to drive, to lead
kohn-doo-SEER
irregular
irregular
ee-rreh-goo-LAR
de memoria
by heart
deh meh-MOH-ryah
la raíz
the stem (root)
lah rrah-EES
quieren que nosotros conduzcamos
they want us to drive
KYEH-rehn keh noh-SOH-trohs kohn-doos-KAH-mohs
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
The irregular present subjunctive follows the yo-form: traigo gives que traiga, oigo que oiga, conduzco que conduzca, quepo que quepa. Beyond those, six stand alone and you use them most: sea (ser), esté (estar), vaya (ir), haya (haber), sepa (saber), dé (dar).
Y también · And also
Say them until they arrive without thinking: que traiga, que oiga, que conduzca, que quepa. A verb whose yo-form ends in -go or -zco carries that consonant through every subjunctive person.
Ojo · Watch out
que quepa is caber (to fit) and que sepa is saber (to know) — one letter apart, two verbs. dé (dar) keeps its accent to stay apart from de (of). And conducir is the general verb; in Latin America the car is driven with manejar.
caber, presente de subjuntivo — the table
yo quepa · tú quepas · él/ella/usted quepa · nosotros quepamos · ustedes quepan · ellos/ellas quepan
traer, presente de subjuntivo — the table
yo traiga · tú traigas · él/ella/usted traiga · nosotros traigamos · ustedes traigan · ellos/ellas traigan
oír, presente de subjuntivo — the table
yo oiga · tú oigas · él/ella/usted oiga · nosotros oigamos · ustedes oigan · ellos/ellas oigan
conducir, presente de subjuntivo — the table
yo conduzca · tú conduzcas · él/ella/usted conduzca · nosotros conduzcamos · ustedes conduzcan · ellos/ellas conduzcan
Do it now — on paper
Say all 10 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the Spanish spelling alone — begin with que yo oiga.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the Spanish.
Write out caber, presente de subjuntivo and traer, presente de subjuntivo and oír, presente de subjuntivo and conducir, 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.