You've built the present subjunctive. Now the mood reaches into the past. This lesson covers the perfect, imperfect and pluperfect subjunctive, and the rule that ties them all together — the sequence of tenses: the tense of the main verb decides which subjunctive you need.
Work through each screen and answer the questions — some ask you to recognise the form, some to produce it. Collect ⭐ and press Start.
The perfect subjunctive describes a completed action inside a subjunctive clause. It is the present subjunctive of haber plus the past participle:
| person | haber (subj.) + participle |
|---|---|
| yo | haya hablado |
| tú | hayas hablado |
| él / ella | haya hablado |
| nosotros | hayamos hablado |
| vosotros | hayáis hablado |
| ellos | hayan hablado |
In use: Me alegro de que hayas venido. — "I'm glad you've come." The emotion trigger is present, but the coming is already done → perfect subjunctive.
The imperfect subjunctive is built from the third-person-plural preterite (ellos form). Drop the -ron and add the endings -ra, -ras, -ra, -´ramos, -rais, -ran:
| hablara |
| hablaras |
| hablara |
| habláramos |
| hablarais |
| hablaran |
| comiera |
| comieras |
| comiera |
| comiéramos |
| comierais |
| comieran |
| tuviera |
| tuvieras |
| tuviera |
| tuviéramos |
| tuvierais |
| tuvieran |
Two forms exist: there is also a literary -se set (hablase, comiese, tuviese…). They mean the same thing; the -ra forms are far more common in speech and writing.
Because it is built from the preterite ellos form, every preterite irregularity flows straight in:
| infinitive | preterite (ellos) → imperfect subj. (yo) |
|---|---|
| ser / ir | fueron → fuera |
| hacer | hicieron → hiciera |
| poder | pudieron → pudiera |
| poner | pusieron → pusiera |
| decir | dijeron → dijera |
Note: ser and ir share the same preterite (fueron), so both give fuera — context tells them apart.
The tense of the main verb selects which subjunctive follows across que:
Same idea, two time-frames: Espero que llegues ("I hope you arrive") vs Esperaba que llegaras ("I was hoping you'd arrive"). The trigger is the same verb; only its tense moves.
Tap an infinitive on the left, then its imperfect subjunctive (yo, -ra form) on the right.
The pluperfect subjunctive = the imperfect subjunctive of haber + past participle. It describes something that would have happened or is contrary to past fact:
| person | haber (imp. subj.) + participle |
|---|---|
| yo | hubiera hecho |
| tú | hubieras hecho |
| él / ella | hubiera hecho |
| nosotros | hubiéramos hecho |
| ellos | hubieran hecho |
A -se twin again: hubiese hecho means the same. In use: Si hubiera sabido, habría venido. — "If I had known, I would have come."
The imperfect subjunctive powers the hypothetical si-clause. After si meaning "if (it were true)", you use the imperfect subjunctive, and the result clause takes the conditional:
Never put the present subjunctive after si. Cluster 6 builds all three si-clause types in full.
Sort each sentence by which subjunctive the main verb triggers.
Exam gold: a well-placed Si hubiera…, habría… or Ojalá hubiera… instantly signals A-Level range.
Perfect subjunctive: haya / hayas / haya… + participle — a completed action (Me alegro de que hayas venido).
Imperfect subjunctive: 3rd-person-plural preterite − -ron + -ra… (or literary -se). Irregulars flow from the preterite: tuviera, fuera, hiciera, pudiera, pusiera, dijera.
Pluperfect subjunctive: hubiera / hubiese + participle.
Sequence of tenses: present/future main → present subj.; past/conditional main → imperfect subj. (Quería que vinieras).
si-clause preview: Si tuviera dinero, viajaría (imperfect subj. + conditional).
Cluster 6 takes the si-clause the whole way: the three conditional types and reported speech. Press Finish.
You've built the past subjunctives and the sequence of tenses for AQA A-Level Spanish. 🎉
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Next in the backbone: si-clauses & reported speech — the three conditional types and the backshift.