📖LearnModule 7 · Lesson 4 of 30Independent User · CEFR B1, completedUnit 1 · Quiero que — the subjunctive opens
Two people, or one? — que or the infinitive
Module 7 of the free Spanish course (CEFR B1, completed), lesson 4 of 30: . 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
hay que salir
we must leave
eye keh sah-LEER
quiero salir
I want to leave
KYEH-roh sah-LEER
quiero que salgas
I want you to leave
KYEH-roh keh SAHL-gahs
es mejor
it is better
ehs meh-HOHR
evitar
to avoid
eh-bee-TAR
el sujeto
the subject (of a verb)
ehl soo-HEH-toh
contar los sujetos
to count the subjects
kohn-TAR lohs soo-HEH-tohs
el infinitivo
the infinitive
ehl een-fee-nee-TEE-boh
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
Here is the rule that saves you half the work: if the sentence has only ONE person in it, Spanish skips the subjunctive and uses an infinitive. Hay que salir — someone has to leave, no one named. Quiero que salgas — I want YOU to leave.
Y también · And also
The same applies to wishing: quiero salir (I want to leave — me) against quiero que salgas (I want YOU to leave). Count the people first, then choose the shape. Two subjects means que; one means the infinitive. Es mejor salir temprano — nobody named, infinitive.
Ojo · Watch out
Count the people: hay que salir (everyone, or nobody in particular) takes the infinitive; quiero que salgas (you) takes que and the subjunctive. Never quiero que yo salga — one person, one infinitive.
haber, presente de subjuntivo — the table
yo haya · tú hayas · él/ella/usted haya · nosotros hayamos · ustedes hayan · ellos/ellas hayan
saber, presente de subjuntivo — the table
yo sepa · tú sepas · él/ella/usted sepa · nosotros sepamos · ustedes sepan · ellos/ellas sepan
dar, presente de subjuntivo — the table
yo dé · tú des · él/ella/usted dé · nosotros demos · ustedes den · ellos/ellas den
Do it now — on paper
Say all 8 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the Spanish spelling alone — begin with hay que salir.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the Spanish.
Write out haber, presente de subjuntivo and saber, presente de subjuntivo and dar, 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.