- Spanish Indicative Mood
- Spanish Subjunctive Mood
- Spanish Imperative Mood
- Exercises for Mood in Spanish
- Time to Exercise Your Heart Out!
Grammatical mood adds flavour to language. Without it, your verbs are stuck sounding like this:
Necesitas trabajar más duro. Será beneficioso para ti.
You need to work harder. It will be beneficial for you.
This sentence only uses the indicative mood, the most basic way of speaking. But with the right choice of mood, your sentences can sound like this:
¡Escúchame! Si yo fuera tú, trabajaría más duro; piensa en lo beneficioso que será esto para tu futuro.
Listen to me! If I were you, I'd work harder; think about how beneficial this will be for your future.
Here, the speaker used both the imperative and subjunctive moods. They were able to convey far more information about themselves, their opinions, and their feelings.
Verb Mood is one of the main four advanced concepts related to Spanish verb conjugation.
Do you want to learn how to use the three moods to speak like a native? Then read on for our guide to mood in Spanish!
Also, check out our guide to master more Spanish verb concepts (basic and advanced).
Spanish Indicative Mood
As stated, the indicative mood is the most common mood in Spanish. It makes statements of fact. These statements are often where our language learning starts, with sentences such as:
Me gustan las manzanas.
I like apples.
Fui a la escuela.
I went to school.
The indicative mood has ten verb tenses that allow you to use the mood across past, present, and future. But it always discusses certainties.
Spanish Subjunctive Mood
Nowadays, the subjunctive mood in English is not used frequently. So learning the rules in Spanish will take a bit of practice.
The subjunctive mood has six verb tenses that allow you to express different ideas. The key is remembering the context it’s used in. The subjunctive mood deals with hypotheticals, such as making suggestions. Here are a few examples:
Espero que podamos ir.
I hope we can go.
¡Quisiera que estuvieras aquí!
Wish you were here!
Te sugiero que arregles eso.
I suggest you fix that.
Spanish Imperative Mood
The imperative mood is still commonly used in English. Everywhere from recipe books to verbal instructions, you’ll see and hear people saying:
Gira a la izquierda en el semáforo.
Turn left at the lights.
Mezcle la harina.
Mix in the flour.
Empecemos.
Let’s get started.
Ve a las tiendas.
Go to the shops.
As you can see, the imperative mood is easy to spot because it often omits the subject, making the instructions or permission sound more direct.
Exercises for Mood in Spanish
Time to practise mood in Spanish!
Here are some exercises to practise the different moods:
- Indicative:
- Subjunctive:
- Imperative:
Time to Exercise Your Heart Out!
All it takes to learn the moods in Spanish is practising little and often.
Try using our ever-growing collection of exercises a little throughout the day – one with breakfast, one on public transport, and one before bed.
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