📖LearnModule 7 · Lesson 2 of 30Independent User · CEFR B1, completedUnit 1 · Quiero que — the subjunctive opens
Wanting, wishing, hoping — the triggers
Module 7 of the free Spanish course (CEFR B1, completed), lesson 2 of 30: The second door into the subjunctive is the will of one person aimed at another. On this page: 9 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
quiero que tengas suerte
I want you to be lucky
KYEH-roh keh TEHN-gahs SWEHR-teh
espero que vivas bien
I hope you live well
ehs-PEH-roh keh BEE-bahs byehn
ojalá
hopefully
oh-hah-LAH
ojalá que llueva
I hope it rains
oh-hah-LAH keh YWEH-bah
prefiero que
I prefer that
preh-FYEH-roh keh
desear
to wish
deh-seh-AR
el deseo
the wish
ehl deh-SEH-oh
la voluntad
the will
lah boh-loon-TAHD
exigir
to demand
ehk-see-HEER
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 second door into the subjunctive is the will of one person aimed at another. Quiero que tengas suerte: I want you to be lucky. English uses an infinitive there; Spanish cannot, and insists on que plus the subjunctive.
Y también · And also
The same shape carries the softer versions: espero que (I hope that), prefiero que (I prefer that), deseo que (I wish that) — and the one-word wish ojalá, which takes the subjunctive on its own: ojalá que llueva. Notice the two different people — I want, YOU have. That is the whole condition.
Ojo · Watch out
quiero que tengas suerte has TWO people: I want, you have. With one person there is no que and no subjunctive: quiero tener suerte. And ojalá always takes the subjunctive: ojalá que llueva, never ojalá que llueve.
vivir, presente de subjuntivo — the table
yo viva · tú vivas · él/ella/usted viva · nosotros vivamos · ustedes vivan · ellos/ellas vivan
tener, presente de subjuntivo — the table
yo tenga · tú tengas · él/ella/usted tenga · nosotros tengamos · ustedes tengan · ellos/ellas tengan
Do it now — on paper
Say all 9 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the Spanish spelling alone — begin with quiero que tengas suerte.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the Spanish.
Write out vivir, presente de subjuntivo and tener, 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.