The past subjunctive in Spanish is used to express doubt, desire, uncertainty, or hypothetical situations related to the past. It often appears in dependent clauses following expressions of emotion, doubt, or non-reality, and it is also common after certain conjunctions and in conditional sentences.
Formation
The past subjunctive is generally formed by taking the third person plural preterite form of the verb, dropping the "-ron" ending, and adding specific endings: -ra, -ras, -ra, -ramos, -rais, -ran. There is an alternative set of endings ( "-se" forms), but the "-ra" form is more commonly used in modern Spanish.
Usage
This mood is used to express wishes, doubts, or emotions about past actions, to state hypothetical or contrary-to-fact situations in the past, and in polite or formal requests referring to the past. It is commonly found in "if" clauses (si clauses) and after certain conjunctions like "aunque" (although) when the event is uncertain or unreal.
Conjugations
| Spanish Pronoun | Spanish Conjugation | English Conjugation | Spanish Example | English Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| yo | hablara | I spoke (subjunctive) | Quería que hablara contigo. | I wanted him/her to speak with you. |
| tú | hablaras | you spoke | Esperaba que hablaras más despacio. | I hoped you spoke more slowly. |
| él/ella/usted | hablara | he/she/you spoke | Dudo que hablara verdad. | I doubt he/she spoke the truth. |
| nosotros/as | habláramos | we spoke | Si habláramos más, entenderías. | If we spoke more, you would understand. |
| vosotros/as | hablarais | you all spoke | No creía que hablarais tanto. | I did not believe you all spoke so much. |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hablaran | they/you all spoke | Era necesario que hablaran claro. | It was necessary that they spoke clearly. |
This pattern applies similarly to regular -er and -ir verbs by taking their third person plural preterite form and adding the same endings.
