Quiero Que Vengas: When Does Spanish Use the Subjunctive?
Learn the present subjunctive after wishes and requests with distinct subjects.
ES005 · ES · A2 / B1 · grammar, conjugation
The question
Why is it Quiero que vengas instead of Quiero que vienes?
When a speaker expresses a wish or request about another subject, Spanish commonly uses que followed by the subjunctive: Quiero que vengas ('I want you to come'). The form vengas is present subjunctive, not present indicative vienes.
Wish, request or preference
| Expression | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| querer que | Quiero que estudies. | I want you to study. |
| esperar que | Espero que lleguen pronto. | I hope they arrive soon. |
| pedir que | Te pido que escuches. | I'm asking you to listen. |
| preferir que | Prefiero que nos quedemos. | I prefer that we stay. |
If the person wanting and the person acting are the same, Spanish usually uses an infinitive: Quiero salir ('I want to leave'), not *Quiero que yo salga in ordinary contexts. To form many present subjunctives, start with the yo present indicative stem, remove -o, and add the opposite vowel endings: hablar → hable, hables; comer → coma, comas. Irregular forms such as sea, vaya and tenga need separate learning.
Common mistake
Avoid *Quiero que tú vienes. Say Quiero que vengas. But Quiero venir uses the infinitive because the subject stays the same.
Remember
With wishes or requests about a different subject, expect que + subjunctive; with the same subject, usually use an infinitive.