The Present Subjunctive – Indirect Objects and More Fun with “Se”

E. SIler

The Subjunctive

• So far, all the verb tenses we’ve looked at in Spanish have been in the most commonly used paradigm of verbs: the indicative.

• The subjunctive is another way of expressing verbs in Spanish. • All Romance language and English have subjunctive structures.• English, however, doesn’t use them in quite the same way as

they are used in Romance languages. • And in English they do not look like a radically different

paradigm of verbs because the endings are often the same as the ones for the indicative.

The Subjunctive in English

• One way that we use the subjunctive in English is to express the future in some adverbial clauses.

• When he gets here, I will speak with him.• Here we have a subordinate adverbial clause

that is expressing something that will happen in the future (the getting here).

• But instead of using “will” or “be going to” we use the present tense form (gets) as well.

Try a Different Perspective

• This English use of the present tense form to express a future idea is very confusing for students from language backgrounds in the Romance languages.

• ESL students from these languages instinctively want to express these clauses in the future.

• They make mistakes such as:• When he will get here, I will speak with him.• They make this mistake because in THEIR languages,

these grammatical situations are covered by a form that is visibly different than the future: the subjunctive.

The Present Subjunctive in Spanish• Spanish uses the subjunctive in places that are much like where we use it

in English --- but it looks different from the present tense of Spanish.• The subjunctive is formed by this seemingly simple formula:

– First, form the stem of the subjunctive verb:– A. Go to the “yo” form of any present tense verb in the indicative.– B. Remove the “o” ending and any following vowels.– Second, add the correct ending to the stem:– C. Use the stem to form the subjunctive by adding what are called the REVERSE

endings. – The endings used in present tense (ar) verbs in the indicative are used on ( ir/er)

verbs in the subjunctive. – The endings used in present tense ( ir/er ) verbs in the indicative are used with

the (ar) verbs in the subjunctive. – In all cases the “yo” form in the subjunctive will be the same form as the third

person singular in the subjunctive.

Step 1

A. Find the “yo” form.• “Yo” forms are often not regular in Spanish! • In some cases they are:• Caminar > yo camino; hablar > yo hablo; vivir >

yo vivo; comer > yo como.• But look at all these common irregular forms:• Hacer > yo hago; tener > yo tengo; venir > yo

vengo; dar > yo doy . . .and SO MANY OTHERS!

Step 2

B. Remove the “o” ending and any following vowels. • This, fortunately, is fairly straightforward:• Caminar > yo camino; hablar > yo hablo; vivir

> yo vivo; comer > yo como.• Hacer > yo hago; tener > yo tengo; venir >

yo vengo; dar > yo doy . .

Step 3

• If the verb is an (ar) verb, add the endings that would be used with (er/ir) verbs in the indicative. Hablar > stem: habl

Person Singular Plural

First Yo hable Nosotros hablemos

Second Tú hables/ usted hable

Ustedes hablen

Third él/ella hable Ellos/ellas hablen

Step 3b

• If the verb is an (ir/er) verb, use the endings that would normally be used with the (ar) verbs in the indicative. Venir > Stem: veng

Person Singular PluralFirst Yo venga Nosotros vengamosSecond Tú vengas/ Usted

vengaUstedes vengan

Third él/Ella venga Ellos/ellas vengan

The Problem: 10 Forms!

• Venir – Indicative Venir - Subjunctive

• Yo – vengo venga• Tú vienes vengas• Él/Ella/Usted – viene venga• Nosotros – venimos vengamos• Ellos/Ellas/Uds - – Vienen vengan

The Subjunctive Interpreted

• The subjunctive is best thought of as just a variant of the present.

• In some cases it will translate well as the future or a slightly nuanced “possibility”.

• In most, however, you can safely get away with translating into the present.

Example

• Yo quiero que tu entiendas. (I want that you understand . . . I want you to understand).

• Yo lo haga para que el tenga éxito. (I do it so that he will succeed/ succeeds).

• There are a few irregular subjunctives. The most important of these is the subjunctive form of “ser” --- which must be memorized.

• For more on the subjunctive see pp. 82-92 in the grammar.

Indirect Object Pronouns

• In addition to the direct object pronouns previously studied, Spanish also has indirect object pronouns.

The Indirect Object in English

• The indirect object is a noun phrase (either a noun or a pronoun) that comes after the verb and can generally be paraphrased by “to X” or “for X.”

• Note: the paraphrase is not an indirect object --- but the phrase that can be paraphrased is the indirect object!

English Examples

• The indirect objects are underlined. The paraphrases are in brackets.

• He told me the truth > He told the truth [to me].

• I gave my husband the cat for Christmas > I gave the cat [to my husband] for Christmas.

• We did the police a great favor > We did a great favor [for the police].

English Notes

• Not every verb in English can “take” an indirect object.

• But if a verb can “take” an indirect object, the indirect object can usually be substituted with an object pronoun.

• I gave my husband the cat for Christmas > I gave him the cat for Christmas.

• We did the police a great favor > We did them a great favor.

The Indirect Object in Spanish

• Spanish also takes indirect objects with some verbs.• And as in English, the indirect object can often be

paraphrased by “to/ a ” or “for/ para.”• And also as in English, it is possible to use indirect

object pronouns.• The Spanish indirect object pronouns are practically

identical to the direct object pronouns, with the exception of those in the third person/usted/ustedes.

Spanish Indirect Object PronounsPerson Singular Plural

First Me (to/for me) Nos (to us/for us)

Second Te (to/for you)/ le (to/for you formal)

Les (to/for you plural)

Third Le (to/for him/her) Les (to/for them)

More on Indirect Objects

• Indirect object pronouns in Spanish generally come before the first verb in the verb phrase.

• If there is also a direct object pronoun, the indirect comes before that.

• El hombre me dio el gato. (The man gave [to] me the cat).

• El hombre me lo dio. (The man gave [to me] it).

Indirect Objects 2

• If a verb phrase ends in an –ing participle or an infinitive, the indirect object pronoun (just as the direct object) can hang off the end of the participle or infinitive.

• Él quiere hacerme el favor/ Él me quiere hacer el favor (He wants to do [for] me the favor).

• Ella me está dando galletas/ Ella está dándome galletas (She is giving [to]me cookies).

Mixed Pronouns

• Just as in English we can have both a direct object and an indirect object pronoun in a sentence, we can also do that in Spanish.

• English: He gave me it.• Spanish: Él me lo dio. • HOWEVER, and yes, here it comes . . .

SE AGAIN

• When the direct object pronoun is third person and the indirect object pronoun is also third person, the indirect object pronoun turns into “se.”

• He gave her it. Él se lo dio. • He wants to give her it. Él se lo quiere dar / Él

quiere dárselo.

More on The Indirect Object

• If you have a burning desire to read more about it, see pp. 123 – 129 in the grammar.

More on Se

• Thought for the day: Will this ever end?• Answer: no.• There are still MORE uses of “se” you should

be aware of.

Another Use: Accidents/Unplanned Occurrences

• Remember this sentence from Paragraph 2? • Las provisiones se les agotaron.• This is a very unusual use of “se” (and note the

indirect object pronoun). • The absolute best translation would be:• They exhausted the supplies.

How This Structure Works• Condition: You must want to express an accidental or unplanned

occurrence.• First, think of the object: their supplies. • The verb in this situation is going to agree with the object in Spanish.• Las provisiones agotaron. (Object can come before or after verb --- in

this case it comes before.)• Second, add “se” to show that this was something that it was accidental

or unplanned.• Las provisiones se agotaron.• Third, add the indirect object pronoun to show who was involved in the

experience. Effectively the INDIRECT OBJECT PRONOUN becomes the “agent” of the verb – the one who “does” the verb.

• Las provisiones se les agotaron.

Think About Mitt Romney’s Dog

• He went on vacation and when his wife realized he’d left the dog on the roof of his car he probably would have said to her: “Se me olvidó el perro.”

• See how a person can get out of accepting responsibility for the action?

• This unplanned/accidental/mostly unfortunate thing happened (the dog being forgotten on the roof of the car) and I was there ( but I was not culpable) but it was an accident.

In a very real sense

• This meaning of “se” basically carries the meaning of “s**t happens” and someone was there.

• In English, we translate it though to show the indirect object is the subject-agent of the verb: I forgot the dog.

• As an occasional legal translator, I want to point out that this is a very hard structure to get across to judges.

Another Use of Se

• “Se” can also sometimes be translated as “it” or even “one” or casually “they” --- especially in phrases that have to do with speaking or telling something.

• Se dice que ella es muy buena profesora.• It is said that she is a really good professor.• One says that . . . • They say that . . .

And a final use of “se”

• Sometimes “se” can be added to a verb to give it an intensified, somewhat nuanced, meaning.

• Note the difference in these two sentences:• Mi nieta comió la comida. (My granddaughter ate

the food).• Mi nieta se comió la comida. (My granddaughter ate

up the food). • Think about it: In which of these sentences does

my granddaughter come across as being more hungry?