Some common -ar and -er verbs change a stressed stem vowel in the present subjunctive.

The idea

Pensar gives piense and pienses, while poder gives pueda and puedas; nosotros forms such as pensemos keep the unchanged stem.

Examples

  • Quiero que pienses con calma.I want you to think calmly.
  • Es importante que puedas descansar.It is important that you can rest.
  • Prefiero que vuelvan temprano.I prefer that they return early.
  • Te pido que cuentes la historia.I ask you to tell the story.
  • Es mejor que pensemos juntos.It is better that we think together.
  • Quiero que volvamos antes de cenar.I want us to return before dinner.

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Spanish voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

This pattern is limited here to the selected -ar and -er verbs; some -ir verbs have additional changes.

Try it yourself

  1. Choose the tú subjunctive of pensar. Quiero que tú ___ con calma. (pienses / penses)

    Show answer or example answer

    pienses

    Pienses is the tú present subjunctive of pensar.

  2. Choose the tú subjunctive of poder. Es importante que tú ___ descansar. (puedas / podas)

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    puedas

    Puedas is the tú present subjunctive of poder.

  3. Choose the nosotros subjunctive of pensar. Es mejor que nosotros ___ juntos. (pensemos / piensemos)

    Show answer or example answer

    pensemos

    Pensemos is the nosotros present subjunctive of pensar.

Use it today

Give a wish for someone to think and a recommendation that someone can rest using the requested subjunctive forms.