El modo subjuntivo (the subjunctive mood)

El subjuntivo es un modo que existe en las lenguas romances y que denota un carácter irreal o hipotético. En inglés existe un subjuntivo: a veces, podemos sustituir la primera y la tercera persona del singular del verbo to be en pasado, I was y he was, por I were y he were, cuando queremos expresar irrealidad.

💂 The subjunctive is a mood that exists in Romance languages and that denotes an unreal or hypothetical character. In English there is a subjunctive: sometimes, we can replace the first and third person singular of the verb to be in the past tense, I was and he was, with I were and he were, when we want to express unreality.

If I were rich...

I wish James were more friendly.

Estas son formas subjuntivas. Es incorrecto usar I were cuando hablamos de una situación real: Last night I was at John's house.

💂 These are subjunctive forms. It is incorrect to use I were when we talk about a real situation: Last night I was at John's house.

Tenemos otro ejemplo de subjuntivo en inglés, cuando el verbo to be se encuentra en una oración subordinada:

💂 We have another example of subjunctive in English, when the verb to be is in a subordinate clause:

They recommended that he be promoted.

We ask that it be delivered to our office.

Y aquí tenemos ejemplos con otros verbos:

💂 And here we have examples with other verbs:

It is essential that everyone do it.

I recommend that he eat more fruit.

Nota: en el inglés actual, muchos hablantes dicen if I was rich o I recommend that he eats more fruit, y gramáticos modernos como Bas Aarts (Oxford Modern English Grammar) aceptan las dos opciones: el subjuntivo suena más formal, pero el indicativo también es correcto. En español, en cambio, el subjuntivo no se puede sustituir por el indicativo en estas construcciones.

💂 Note: in present-day English, many speakers say if I was rich or I recommend that he eats more fruit, and modern grammarians such as Bas Aarts (Oxford Modern English Grammar) accept both options: the subjunctive sounds more formal, but the indicative is also correct. In Spanish, by contrast, the subjunctive cannot be replaced by the indicative in these constructions.