The subjunctive is a verb mood, not a verb tense. It expresses uncertainty or subjectivity. The subjunctive is generally used in Spanish whenever someone is giving information about how probable an action is, whether it is forced, whether it is good or bad, or under what circumstances it will happen. Some standard uses of the Spanish subjunctive are described below.

Likelihood of action

If a sentence comments on the likelihood that an action will occur, the verb relating to that action takes the subjunctive form. A sentence beginning with ‘es incierto’(it’s uncertain) or ‘es dudoso’ (it is doubtful) will have a subjunctive verb in the clause following the expression of uncertainty.

Volition

When the subject of a main clause influences someone else to perform an action through their desire, advice or command, the verb describing that action will be subjunctive. When a sentence contains the verb ‘pedir’ or ‘decir’ (to ask or to tell) in the first clause, a subjunctive verb will appear in the following clause.

Emotional impact of action

When a person expresses an emotional response to an action, the action verb will be subjunctive. If a sentence starts off with a phrase such as ‘es bueno que’ (it is good that) or ‘es terrible’ (it is terrible), the speaker is making a value judgement so the verb in the clause that follows will be in the subjunctive form.

Conditional Events

If an action will only occur if something else happens first, it is conditional and the verb describing it will be subjunctive. A few Spanish phrases that point toward conditional actions are ‘en caso de que’ (in case), ‘a menos que’ (unless) and ‘con tal que’ (provided that).

The Spanish subjunctive is used in most circumstances where the speaker is not making an objective statement of fact. If a sentence conveys emotion or uncertainty, it will typically contain a subjunctive verb.

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