The subjunctive in Spanish tends to scare beginning learners far more than it should, it\’s fairly straightforward in how it works and when you should apply it, and I\’m going to give you a few short, simple guidelines to tell you when you should use the subjunctive that will work in 98% of situations in Spanish, which is the part that really gives everyone trouble, the actual \’how\’ of conjugating a verb into the subjunctive is really easy (that can be learned in 2 minutes from a grammar book or on Google). Let\’s go.

Here\’s the skinny that pretty much says it all: the subjunctive is used in any situation where there is uncertainty or emotion being expressed. That\’s it. Ok, there are a few more details that should be pointed out, but that really is the gist of it.

The W.E.I.R.D.O. System

I\’m going to give you a great little mnemonic device to remember when you should use the subjunctive, and if you\’ll think about it you\’ll see that each one of these categories falls under either the \”emotion\” label or the \”uncertainty\” label, so if you really want to keep it simple when wondering whether or not to use the subjunctive you can still just ask yourself \”Does this sound \”uncertain\” or \”emotional\”?\” If the answer is \”yes\”, then 98% of the time you will be correct in using the subjunctive.

Here\’s what you need to remember, which I\’ll expand on further below:

Wishes
Emotions
Impersonal Expressions
Recommendations
Doubt/Denial
Ojal