Spanish conjugation explanation
Subjunctive accent mark

<p>In the

<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext" href="/study/tenseGuideForTense/20/" target="_blank">Imperfect Subjunctive</a>

and

<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext" href="/study/tenseGuideForTense/21/" target="_blank">Future Subjunctive</a>

tenses, the <strong>first person plural</strong> (P/1 - <span style="font-style: italic;">nosotros</span>) forms always require a written <strong>accent mark (´)</strong> over the vowel preceding the ending.</p>

<p>This applies to all three variants:</p>

<ul>

<li><strong>Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra form):</strong> <span style="font-style: italic;">-<strong>á</strong>ramos, -<strong>ié</strong>ramos</span></li>

<li><strong>Imperfect Subjunctive (-se form):</strong> <span style="font-style: italic;">-<strong>á</strong>semos, -<strong>ié</strong>semos</span></li>

<li><strong>Future Subjunctive:</strong> <span style="font-style: italic;">-<strong>á</strong>remos, -<strong>ié</strong>remos</span></li>

</ul>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_title">Why is the accent necessary?</div>

<p>These verb tenses are formed using the stem from the

<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext" href="/study/tenseGuideForTense/18/" target="_blank">Preterite</a>

third person plural form. When the two-syllable <span style="font-style: italic;">nosotros</span> ending is added, the stress falls on the <strong>third-to-last syllable</strong> (the stem vowel).</p>

<p>In Spanish, words stressed on the third-to-last syllable (called <span style="font-style: italic;">palabras esdrújulas</span>) <strong>always</strong> carry a written accent mark. Observe the pattern in these examples:</p>

<ul>

<li>

<div>

<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/esp/hablar/" title="Click to see conjugations for hablar" target="_blank">hablar</a>

(<span style="font-style: italic;">to speak</span>)</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">Preterite stem: <span style="font-style: italic;">habla-</span> → nosotros <span class="green_emphasis">habláramos</span></div>

</li>

<li>

<div>

<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/esp/escribir/" title="Click to see conjugations for escribir" target="_blank">escribir</a>

(<span style="font-style: italic;">to write</span>)</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">Preterite stem: <span style="font-style: italic;">escribie-</span> → nosotros <span class="green_emphasis">escribiésemos</span></div>

</li>

<li>

<div>

<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/esp/comer/" title="Click to see conjugations for comer" target="_blank">comer</a>

(<span style="font-style: italic;">to eat</span>)</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">Preterite stem: <span style="font-style: italic;">comie-</span> → nosotros <span class="green_emphasis">comiéremos</span></div>

</li>

</ul>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_title">Conjugation Tables</div>

<p>In the following tables for the verb

<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/esp/comer/" title="Click to see conjugations for comer" target="_blank">comer</a>

, notice that while the other forms follow standard stress rules without an accent, the <strong>nosotros</strong> form always requires one:</p>

<a class="study_conjugations_tense_label box_label tense_box no_dark_mode " href="/study/tenseGuideForTense/20/" target="_blank" title="Open tense guide">Pretérito imperfecto subjuntivo (ra)</a>

</span>comiera

</span>

</div>

tú

</span>comieras

</span>

</div>

él

</span>comiera

</span>

</div>

nosotros

</span>comiéramos

</span>

</div>

vosotros

</span>comierais

</span>

</div>

ellos

</span>comieran

</span>

</div>

<a class="study_conjugations_tense_label box_label tense_box no_dark_mode " href="/study/tenseGuideForTense/57/" target="_blank" title="Open tense guide">Pretérito imperfecto subjuntivo (se)</a>

</span>comiese

</span>

</div>

tú

</span>comieses

</span>

</div>

él

</span>comiese

</span>

</div>

nosotros

</span>comiésemos

</span>

</div>

vosotros

</span>comieseis

</span>

</div>

ellos

</span>comiesen

</span>

</div>

<a class="study_conjugations_tense_label box_label tense_box no_dark_mode " href="/study/tenseGuideForTense/21/" target="_blank" title="Open tense guide">Futuro subjuntivo</a>

</span>comiere

</span>

</div>

tú

</span>comieres

</span>

</div>

él

</span>comiere

</span>

</div>

nosotros

</span>comiéremos

</span>

</div>

vosotros

</span>comiereis

</span>

</div>

ellos

</span>comieren

</span>

</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_title">General Stress Rules</div>

<p>To understand this better, it helps to review why the other forms <em>don't</em> have an accent. In Spanish, a syllable is stressed based on the last letter of the word:</p>

<ul>

<li>If a word ends in a <strong>vowel</strong>, <strong style="font-style: italic;">-n</strong>, or <strong style="font-style: italic;">-s</strong>, the natural stress falls on the <strong>second-to-last syllable</strong>.<br />Example: <span style="font-style: italic;">comieras</span> (<span style="font-style: italic;">co-MIE-ras</span>) follows this rule, so no accent mark is needed.</li>

<li>If the natural stress position changes (like in <span style="font-style: italic;">comiéramos</span>, where it shifts to <span style="font-style: italic;">co-MIE-ra-mos</span>), a written accent must be added to enforce the correct pronunciation.</li>

</ul>

Spanish conjugation explanation Subjunctive accent mark

Spanish conjugation explanation
Subjunctive accent mark