Concepto nuevo
A mood for what isn't real yet
Everything you've said in Spanish so far has been about facts — things that happen, happened or will happen. Those verbs are in the indicative: Hablas español. — You speak Spanish.
The subjunctive (el subjuntivo) is for things that aren't facts yet: what someone wants, hopes or asks for. Espero que hables con él. — I hope you talk to him.
It nearly always comes after que, in the second half of a sentence; the first half switches it on. To build it, take the yo form of the present, drop the -o and swap the vowel: -ar verbs take -e, -er and -ir verbs take -a.
| Pronoun | Hablar (yo hablo) | Comer (yo como) | Vivir (yo vivo) |
|---|---|---|---|
| que yo | hable | coma | viva |
| que tú | hables | comas | vivas |
| que él / ella / usted | hable | coma | viva |
| que nosotros | hablemos | comamos | vivamos |
| que vosotros | habléis | comáis | viváis |
| que ellos / ellas / ustedes | hablen | coman | vivan |
In the subjunctive, yo and él / ella share one form: que yo hable, que ella hable. Now try escuchar (yo escucho) — the forms you'd use after que.