Part 1: Hello Subjunctive
I thought I would continue with more uses and examples of the subjunctive.
One strategy of learning vocabulary that I encourage is to keep an ongoing personal dictionary. It can be a mini notebook or notepad that you can keep with you (my preference)... or an electronic place you save information on your phone, such as in a "notes" app.
Things to jot down might be new words you get stuck on, like when you would say...
"¿Cómo se dice ______ en español?"
That word!
Being immersed in Spanish really is the best way to learn it, because you are actually communicating in all different scenarios. The first Spanish-speaking country I lived in was Costa Rica. I carried around a little booklet and wrote down things I was trying to communicate. This became my own personal dictionary of useful words and phrases.
In your personal dictionary, keep track of the new words you are learning, along with useful phrases. These will be the things you try to say in communication. Don't worry about the difficulty level (regarding grammar). That's the beauty of learning useful phrases. If it makes sense to say it... go ahead and say it!
Ejemplos:
Julie's useful phrases [that include the subjunctive]:
- Llámame cuando puedas (Call me when you can) [imperative of llamar + subjunctive of poder]
- Lo que sea (Whatever) [subjunctive of ser]
- Haz lo que sea (Do whatever) [imperative of hacer + subjunctive of ser]
- Haz lo que quieras (Do whatever you want) [imperative of hacer + subjunctive of querer]
- Haré lo que quiera (I'll do whatever I want) [future of hacer + subjunctive of querer]
- ¿Quién sea? (Who is it?; Who could it be?) [subjunctive of ser]
- ¡Que tengas un gran día! (Have a great day!) [subjunctive of tener]
- ¡Que tengas un buen día! (Have a good day!) [subjunctive of tener]
- Espero que te sientas mejor (Hope you feel better) [present tense of esperar + subjunctive of sentirse]
- Te recomiendo que tomes un día a la vez (I recommend you take one day at a time) [present tense of recomendar + subjunctive of tomar]
- Tal vez él llegue tarde (Maybe/Perhaps he's late) [subjunctive of llegar]
- Quizás ella llegue tarde (Maybe/Perhaps she's late) [subjunctive of llegar]
- Nos iremos tan pronto como llegue aquí (We will go as soon as he/she gets here) [future of irse + subjunctive of llegar]
- Si yo fuera tú, lo haría (If I were you, I would do it) [imperfect subjunctive of ser + conditional of hacer]
- Ojalá que Lush me visite hoy (I hope Lush visits me today) [subjunctive of visitar]
- Quisiera dos cargas de café con leche (I would like two shots of coffee (espresso) with milk) [imperfect subjunctive of querer]
- Pase lo que pase (Whatever happens) [subjunctive of pasar]
- Puedas o no (Whether you can or not) [subjunctive of poder]
- Espero que podamos ir de excursión pronto (I hope we can hike soon) [present tense of esperar + subjunctive of poder + infinitive of ir]
More of Julie's "general" useful phrases:
- No me importa (I don't care) [present tense of importar]
- No me digas (You don't say; No way; Are you kidding me) [imperative of decir]
- Dime (Tell me) [imperative of decir]
- Me da igual (Whatever; It doesn't matter to me; I don't care) [present tense of dar]
- Hago lo que quiero (I do whatever I want) [present tense of hacer + querer]
- ¿Quién es? (Who is it?) [present tense of ser]
- Paso a paso (One step at a time) [el paso - step]
- Un día a la vez (One day at a time)
- Tomemos un día a la vez (Let's take one day at a time) [imperative of tomar]
- Me pregunto qué pasó (I wonder what happened) [present tense of preguntar + preterite of pasar]
- Espero verte pronto (Hope to see you soon) [present tense of esperar + infinitive of ver]
Note the grammar if you so desire. Make sure to keep learning FUN!
What words and phrases would you like to learn?
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