When it comes to learning Spanish, the understanding of subjunctive is definitely one of the most difficult barriers for students to overcome. The fact that the subjunctive is hardly used in English is one of the reasons why this grammatical mood may cause so many headaches.

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<h2>The Subjunctive Mood</h2>
The subjunctive in English is restricted nowadays to only a few instances, for example:
If I were you&hellip;
If it were to rain&hellip;
However, the subjunctive is a fundamental element in Spanish language and widely used. That is one of the reasons why students should study this mood thoroughly in order to have a good command of the language. We must also bear in mind that the subjunctive in Spanish should be considered as a &lsquo;mood&rsquo; rather than a tense. In fact it exists in four tenses (present, imperfect, perfect and pluperfect). I will assume that you already know the correct conjugations and just need to know when to use them, but if you need a reference, you can check these verb charts on:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.spanishconjugation.net/conjugation-charts/present-subjunctive/">Spanish Conjugation.net </a>
Here, I am glad to provide you with this list where I give 10 different scenarios in order to explain how to use the subjunctive mood in Spanish. Through the following list you will see&nbsp;how present subjunctive is easily and commonly used in everyday situations.
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Let&rsquo;s start! Enjoy!
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<h2>1. Wishes and Hopes</h2>
Some verbs in Spanish such as &lsquo;querer&rsquo; (to want), &lsquo;esperar&rsquo; (to hope) are frequently used to discuss wishes and hopes. When using these verbs, if the subject of the sentences changes after &lsquo;que&rsquo;, then the verb that follows &lsquo;que&rsquo; must be in the&nbsp;subjunctive mood.
Examples:
Yo quiero&nbsp;que&nbsp;Jennifer me&nbsp;ayude.
I want Jennifer to help me.
Yo espero&nbsp;que&nbsp;Daniel&nbsp;pueda&nbsp;ir all&iacute;.
I hope that Daniel can go there.
The word &lsquo;ojal&aacute;&rsquo; (derived from&nbsp;<a href="http://www.italki.com/article/285/arabic-some-advice-for-beginners">Arabic</a> for &ldquo;God willing&rdquo;) also includes the use of&nbsp;subjunctive.
Example:
Ojal&aacute;llueva.
I hope it rains
Ojal&aacute;pudiera&nbsp;ir. &nbsp;(Note that &lsquo;pudiera&rsquo; is the form of imperfect subjunctive tense)
I wish I could go.
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<h2>2. Possibilities and Probability</h2>
When expressing the likelihood of an event, words meaning &lsquo;perhaps&rsquo; (quiz&aacute;s, tal vez, puede que, es posible que&hellip;) may be followed by the&nbsp;subjunctive.
Examples
Puede que&nbsp;yo&nbsp;vaya&nbsp;all&iacute;.
I might go there.
Es posible que&nbsp;ella&nbsp;est&eacute;&nbsp;embarazada.
It is possible for her to be pregnant.
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<h2>3. Doubting and Negative Sentences.</h2>
When doubting in Spanish, we may use the subjunctive. Some verbs such as &lsquo;dudar&rsquo;&nbsp;(to doubt), &lsquo;no creer&rsquo; or &lsquo;no pensar&rsquo; (not to think) and &lsquo;no parecer&rsquo; (not seem to) indicate that the&nbsp;subjunctive&nbsp;must be used.
Example:
No creo&nbsp;que&nbsp;vaya&nbsp;a llover.
I don&rsquo;t think it&rsquo;s going to rain.
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<h2>4. Recommendations</h2>
When suggesting another person to do (or not to do) something, the&nbsp;subjunctive&nbsp;is used. In this case, &lsquo;que&rsquo; separates the recommender from the recommendation.
Laura me recomienda&nbsp;que&nbsp;(yo)&nbsp;beba&nbsp;m&aacute;s agua.
Laura recommends for me to drink more water.
Me sugieren&nbsp;que&nbsp;(yo)&nbsp;vea&nbsp;esa pel&iacute;cula.
They suggest for me to watch that film.
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<h2>5. Requests and Demands</h2>
When we insist or demand that another person must do something, the&nbsp;subjunctive&nbsp;will be needed. Some verbs that we usually use are: &lsquo;insistir&rsquo; (to insist), &lsquo;demandar&rsquo; (to demand), &lsquo;pedir&rsquo; (to ask, to request). Let&rsquo;s see a couple of examples:
El sargento&nbsp;exige&nbsp;que todos los soldados&nbsp;marchen.
The sargent demands that all the soldiers march.
Insisto&nbsp;en que&nbsp;termines&nbsp;tu tarea.
I insist that you finish your homework.
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<h2>6. Permission and Prohibition</h2>
The&nbsp;subjunctive&nbsp;must be used in all cases when someone is trying to influence the action of another person in some way through&nbsp;permission&nbsp;and&nbsp;prohibition.
Examples:
Su madre le&nbsp;proh&iacute;be&nbsp;que&nbsp;vaya&nbsp;all&iacute;.
His mother forbids him to go there.
Te&nbsp;permito&nbsp;que&nbsp;salgas&nbsp;esta noche.
I allow you to go out tonight.
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<h2>7. Impersonal expressions</h2>
An&nbsp;impersonal expression&nbsp;is one which does not have a personal subject, introduces an aspect of uncertainty or subjectivity, and then triggers the use of&nbsp;subjunctive.
Example:
Es importante quetermines&nbsp;a tiempo.
It is important that you finish on time.
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<h2>8. Verbs of Emotion</h2>
Because&nbsp;emotions&nbsp;are not necessarily facts, you can expect to find the&nbsp;subjunctive&nbsp;used when emotions are being expressed.
Example:
Mar&iacute;a&nbsp;siente&nbsp;mucho que no&nbsp;puedas&nbsp;venir.
Maria is very sorry (that) you are unable to come.
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<h2>9. Negative Commands and Formal Imperatives</h2>
When telling someone not to do something (negative commands), the present&nbsp;subjunctive&nbsp;is required. Imperatives using the&nbsp;polite&nbsp;&lsquo;you&rsquo; (&lsquo;usted&rsquo; or &lsquo;ustedes&rsquo;) need subjunctive, too.
Novayas&nbsp;all&iacute;.
Don&rsquo;t go there.
Cierre&nbsp;(usted) la ventana, por favor.
Close the window, please.
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<h2>10. Subordinating Phrases and Conjunctions</h2>
Uncompleted or prospective actions require subjunctive, too. These expressions give the condition that something will be done at a certain time. Let&rsquo;s see an example:
Ll&aacute;mame cuando&nbsp;termines&nbsp;la reuni&oacute;n.
Call me when you have finished the meeting.
Then, we can see that he/she will only call once he/she has finished the meeting. That is the reason why subjunctive must be used after &lsquo;cuando&rsquo;.
Easy, right? Want more?
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<a href="http://youtu.be/siUZB9U0gQ0">1. 60 Seconds - When to Use the Subjunctive in Spanish. Wishes (I)</a>
<a href="http://youtu.be/agwq_-JEpwc">2. 60 Seconds - When to Use the Subjunctive in Spanish. Wishes (II)</a>
<a href="http://youtu.be/Lf9oLh3Nn34">3. 60 Seconds - When to Use the Subjunctive in Spanish. Wishes (III)</a>
<a href="file://localhost/about/blank">4. 60 Seconds - When to Use the Subjunctive in Spanish. Probability</a>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcWtqZNbFo8&amp;feature=youtu.be">5. 60 Seconds - When to Use the Subjunctive in Spanish. Negative Sentences</a>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-RdmCFDKno&amp;feature=youtu.be">6. 60 Seconds - When to Use the Subjunctive in Spanish. Recommendations</a>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vex2TS9NL0Y&amp;feature=youtu.be">7. 60 Seconds - When to Use the Subjunctive in Spanish. Requests</a>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rT38GdNYYMU&amp;feature=youtu.be">8. 60 Seconds - When to Use the Subjunctive in Spanish. Permission and Prohibition</a>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rby7Dy6Vmg&amp;feature=youtu.be&amp;noredirect=1">9. 60 Seconds - When to Use the Subjunctive in Spanish. Impersonal Expressions</a>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCsEY4-Ne9M&amp;feature=youtu.be">10. 60 Seconds - When to Use the Subjunctive in Spanish. Verbs of Emotion (I)</a>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6vf9CtTKms&amp;feature=youtu.be">11. 60 Seconds - When to Use the Subjunctive in Spanish. Verbs of Emotion (II)</a>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siTTWgMgPWc&amp;feature=youtu.be">12. 60 Seconds - When to Use the Subjunctive in Spanish. Value Judgments</a>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJ5Wwoy0QjM&amp;feature=youtu.be">13. 60 Seconds - When to Use the Subjunctive in Spanish. Doubts and Negative Commands</a>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nntvZmgKPTI&amp;feature=youtu.be">14. 60 Seconds - When to Use the Subjunctive in Spanish. Subordinating Phrases of Time</a>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rL_QM5WGif0&amp;feature=youtu.be&amp;noredirect=1">15. 60 Seconds - When to Use the Subjunctive in Spanish. Conjunctions</a>
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