Stem Changes in the Present Subjunctive
Practice the extra nosotros/vosotros stem changes that -ir boot verbs take in the present subjunctive.
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Questions Covered in This Set
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How do -ar and -er boot verbs behave in the present subjunctive?
Exactly like the indicative: the stem change appears everywhere EXCEPT nosotros/vosotros (piense… pensemos, penséis; pueda… podamos, podáis).
Conjugate sentir (e→ie) in the present subjunctive.
sienta, sientas, sienta, sintamos, sintáis, sientan — note the extra e→i in nosotros/vosotros.
Conjugate dormir (o→ue) in the present subjunctive.
duerma, duermas, duerma, durmamos, durmáis, duerman — extra o→u in nosotros/vosotros.
Conjugate pedir (e→i) in the present subjunctive.
pida, pidas, pida, pidamos, pidáis, pidan — e→i in ALL forms, no boot.
What is the reliable shortcut for the nosotros subjunctive of -ir boot verbs?
The nosotros subjunctive stem = the él/ella preterite stem = the gerund stem (murió/muriendo → muramos; sirvió/sirviendo → sirvamos).
Which two common verbs show the o→ue / o→u -ir pattern?
Dormir and morir (durmamos, muramos).
Why is the nosotros subjunctive so useful in everyday speech?
It is the 'let's' command: ¡Durmamos! ¡Pidamos una pizza! ¡Sigamos!
Do -er verbs like volver and poder take the extra weak change?
No. Volvamos and podamos — never *vulvamos or *pudamos.
Do all -ir verbs take the extra nosotros change?
No — only ones that already stem-change in the indicative. Escribir, vivir, abrir, subir, decidir stay regular: escribamos, vivamos.
How does jugar (u→ue) look in the subjunctive?
juegue, juegues, juegue, juguemos, juguéis, jueguen — spelling 'gu' keeps the hard g.
