Imperfect Subjunctive

Kurz erklärt

The imperfect subjunctive (imperfecto de subjuntivo) presents an action as hypothetical, wished for, uncertain, or viewed from a past context. It often corresponds to English forms such as “were,” “did,” or “would,” but Spanish chooses it according to the sentence structure rather than a single English equivalent. In Latin American Spanish, the forms ending in -ra are the usual everyday choice.

Bildung

Take the third-person plural preterite form, remove -ron, and add -ra, -ras, -ra, -ramos, -ran: hablaron → hablara; tuvieron → tuviera. The nosotros form has a written accent before -ramos: habláramos, tuviéramos. Forms in -se (hablase, tuviese) are also correct but are less common in everyday Latin American Spanish.

Verwendung

• Use it for unreal or unlikely present and future situations, especially after si.
• Use it for wishes, reactions, requests, or uncertainty viewed from a past context.
• Use it after como si to describe an unreal comparison.

Beispiele

• Si tuviera más tiempo, aprendería portugués. — If I had more time, I would learn Portuguese.
• Ojalá pudiéramos viajar este verano. — I wish we could travel this summer.
• Me pidió que llegara temprano. — She asked me to arrive early.
• Habla como si supiera la respuesta. — He speaks as if he knew the answer.

Typischer Fehler

❌ Si tendría más dinero, viajaría más.

✅ Si tuviera más dinero, viajaría más.

In a hypothetical si-clause, do not copy English “would” by using the conditional in both parts. Use the imperfect subjunctive after si and the conditional for the result.

Merke

Start from the ellos/ustedes preterite form, not the infinitive. For neutral Latin American Spanish, learn the -ra forms first.