Ch 29 · Lesson 10Spanish · Chapter 29 · Lesson 10 · Grammar primer
Cuando hayas terminado, ojalá haya, haya or hubiera
The perfect subjunctive for will have done ( ), the three hopes of , and once the main verb is past.
The short version
The tense that does English's will have done
, .
Why?Hide
The second home for this tense surprises English speakers. After , , and , an action that will be finished before the main event can take the perfect subjunctive. It does the job English hands to 'will have done', and the two languages line up neatly: when you have finished, call me.
: a hope about the past
.
Why?Hide
With , the tense of the subjunctive says how open the hope is. hopes about the future. hopes about something that has probably already happened, with the result unknown. is a regret: it did not happen.
Cuando hayas terminado: will have done
After , , and , a future action takes the subjunctive. When it will be finished before the main event, use , where English says when you have done:
| After | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| , . | When you' finished, call me. |
| , . | As soon as everyone has arrived, we'll start. |
| . | Don't go out until you' finished. |
| , . | Once they' left, we'll close. |
The plain present subjunctive is also correct here: , . just stresses that the job will be done first.
Ojalá: three hopes
can take each of these three subjunctives, and each says something different about time:
- ojalá lleguestill to come
- ojalá haya llegadodone, result unknown
- ojalá hubiera llegadoit did not happen
| Hope | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| still to come | . | I hope he/she gets there safely. |
| done, unknown | . | I hope he/she got there safely. |
| too late | . | If only he/she had arrived on time. |
is the open past: it has probably happened, and you do not know how it went yet.
Haya or hubiera: follow the main verb
answers to a present or future main verb. Once the main verb is past, the auxiliary moves back to :
| Main verb | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| present | . | I don't think he/she has arrived. |
| past | . | I didn't think he/she had arrived. |
| present | . | They may have left. |
| past | . | It was possible they had left. |
The full set is on the pluperfect subjunctive.
Mistakes English speakers make
| Wrong | Right | Why |
|---|---|---|
| ha | | doubt needs the subjunctive |
| no | | a past main verb: |
| carries an accent | |
| hablada | | the participle never agrees |
| no | | no goes before |
Going further: The perfect subjunctive at a glance and the rest of the guide, when you want them. This lesson does not need them.
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