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Hello, hello, and welcome to a new episode of Learn English for Spanish Speakers.

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Over the next few minutes, I'm going to talk you through one of the most advanced

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grammar points in the English language.

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It is no other than the present subjunctive.

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Understanding this feature of the language, and eventually using it naturally, will help

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you express much finer shades of meaning, that extra nuance that you need to convey

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at levels C1 and, above all, C2.

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Well, well, are you ready?

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In this tutorial, I'm going to go through the following aspects of the present subjunctive.

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1. Why do we use it?

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2. What does it look like?

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3. When do we use it?

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So, let's start.

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Why do we use the present subjunctive?

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Well, we use it to convey the idea that doing something is of paramount importance or necessity.

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Similarly, we may be in a situation where, in a polite manner, we need to stress that

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someone must do something.

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I've no doubt you must have come across some realizations of this phenomenon when

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you read or listen to English.

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Now, whether you spotted this unusual feature of the English language, and became aware

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of its implications, is another thing.

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Shall we focus on the form now?

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What does it look like?

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The subjunctive form is the same as the infinitive, without to.

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Consequently, it does not show any marking for tense.

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This means there is no "-s ending for the third person singular in the present conjugation,

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there is no "-ed ending nor the use of an irregular past form in the past conjugation,

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and we don't need to use the auxiliary form will for future, nor the auxiliary form would

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for conditional.

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So, as an example, the present subjunctive of the verb to live is live.

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And what about use?

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When do we use the present subjunctive?

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Well, there are two main areas.

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A. In certain fixed expressions.

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And B. After some verbs, adjectives and nouns.

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As far as the first area is concerned, let's see an example and how it translates into Spanish.

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Think of somebody shouting the following message out loud to a crowd.

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Long live our community!

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Which in Spanish might be translated as

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Viva nuestro pueblo!

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If we are talking in a rural area.

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Or

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Viva nuestro barrio!

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If we are talking in a town or in a city.

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Did you notice that the word live does not include the S third person singular?

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The second area where we find the present subjunctive is

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after some verbs, adjectives and nouns,

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expressing importance, necessity or obligation in a formal and polite way.

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Now, let's focus on another example and its corresponding translation into Spanish.

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Listen to an example with a verb.

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In her progress report, Sarah's tutor recommends that she do her swimming practice daily.

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And in Spanish.

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Did you spot the word do, not does?

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This usage is more frequent in American English than in British English,

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where the auxiliary form should is preferred.

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So, in British English, you are more likely to hear something like

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In her progress report, Sarah's tutor recommends that she should do her swimming practice daily.

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Other reporting verbs that can take the present subjunctive are

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decide, demand, insist, propose, request and suggest.

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And this brings me to the end of this tutorial.

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Thank you for listening.

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So, it's goodbye now.

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Until next time, keep up the good work learning English and take care.

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Bye.