📖LearnModule 8 · Lesson 27 of 30Independent User · CEFR B2, first halfUnit 6 · Argumentar por escrito
El imperfecto de subjuntivo — built from the pretérito
Module 8 of the free Spanish course (CEFR B2, first half), lesson 27 of 30: . 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
el imperfecto de subjuntivo
the past subjunctive
ehl eem-pehr-FEHK-toh deh soob-hoon-TEE-boh
si yo hablara español
if I spoke Spanish
see yoh ah-BLAH-rah ehs-pah-NYOHL
si fuera rico
if I were rich
see FWEH-rah RREE-koh
si pudiera
if I could
see poo-DYEH-rah
hablaron
they spoke (the ellos form)
ah-BLAH-rohn
la terminación
the ending of a verb
lah tehr-mee-nah-SYOHN
la raíz
the stem (root)
lah rrah-EES
como si
as if
KOH-moh see
habla como si supiera
he talks as if he knew
AH-blah KOH-moh see soo-PYEH-rah
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 past subjunctive has the friendliest build in the language: take the ELLOS form of the pretérito, drop the -ron, and add -ra, -ras, -ra, -ramos, -ran. Hablaron gives hablara; tuvieron gives tuviera; fueron gives fuera; pudieron gives pudiera. Every irregularity of the pretérito comes along for free.
Y también · And also
Its jobs: the si-clause you just met (si hablara español), the wish after como si (habla como si supiera — he talks as if he knew), and every subjunctive trigger moved into the past (quería que vinieras). A second set of endings, -se, exists and means the same; you will read it, not write it.
Ojo · Watch out
Build from the ELLOS pretérito: tuvieron gives tuviera, fueron gives fuera. The nosotros form takes an accent: habláramos, tuviéramos. And como si ALWAYS takes this tense: como si supiera, never como si sabe.
hablar, imperfecto de subjuntivo — the table
yo hablara · tú hablaras · él/ella/usted hablara · nosotros habláramos · ustedes hablaran · ellos/ellas hablaran
ser, imperfecto de subjuntivo — the table
yo fuera · tú fueras · él/ella/usted fuera · nosotros fuéramos · ustedes fueran · ellos/ellas fueran
poder, imperfecto de subjuntivo — the table
yo pudiera · tú pudieras · él/ella/usted pudiera · nosotros pudiéramos · ustedes pudieran · ellos/ellas pudieran
Do it now — on paper
Say all 9 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the Spanish spelling alone — begin with el imperfecto de subjuntivo.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the Spanish.
Write out hablar, imperfecto de subjuntivo and ser, imperfecto de subjuntivo and poder, imperfecto 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.