The Imperfect Subjunctive
The imperfect subjunctive is built on the preterite: falaron → falase, tiveron → tivese, foron → fose. It is used after past wishes, unreal conditions and como se.
How It Works
How to form it
Start from the ellos/elas form of the preterite, remove -ron, and add the endings. The same six endings work for all three verb groups.
- falar (falaron → fala-): falase, falases, falase, falásemos, falásedes, falasen
- comer (comeron → come-): comese, comeses, comese, comésemos, comésedes, comesen
- partir (partiron → parti-): partise, partises, partise, partísemos, partísedes, partisen
Irregular verbs keep their preterite stem
- ser and ir (foron): fose, foses, fose, fósemos, fósedes, fosen
- ter (tiveron): tivese; estar (estiveron): estivese
- facer (fixeron): fixese; dicir (dixeron): dixese
- vir (viñeron): viñese; ver (viron): vise
- poder (puideron): puidese; querer (quixeron): quixese; saber (souberon): soubese
- pór (puxeron): puxese; traer (trouxeron): trouxese; dar (deron): dese; haber (houberon): houbese
Watch the Galician stems: tivese, not the Spanish-style tuvese; soubese, not supese.
The accent on nós and vós
The stress always falls on the vowel before -se: fa-LA-se. In the nós and vós forms that vowel is third from the end, so the standard writes an accent: falásemos, tivésedes, fósemos.
When it is used
- After a past or conditional main verb that calls for the subjunctive: Quería que viñeses (see sequence of tenses).
- In unreal conditions: Se tivese tempo, iría (see hypothetical conditions).
- After como se and in polite wishes.
- For unlikely wishes with oxalá: Oxalá fose verdade!
- For a past event after a present verb of doubt or feeling: Non creo que o fixese el (I do not think he did it). Galician has no compound subjunctive, so this form also covers Spanish haya hecho.
Do not confuse it with the -ra form. In standard Galician falara, tivera is the antepretérito, a past before another past (xa marchara, he had already left). Speech often uses the -ra form as a subjunctive too, but careful writing keeps the -se form for that job (see the -ra and -se forms).
Examples (6)
- Se tivese máis tempo, aprendería a tocar a gaita.
If I had more time, I would learn to play the bagpipes.
Tivese comes from the preterite tiveron. The conditional aprendería completes the unreal condition.
- A mestra pediunos que falásemos máis amodo.
The teacher asked us to speak more slowly.
Pediu is past, so the request takes the imperfect subjunctive. Falásemos carries an accent because the stress is third from the end.
- Quería que o fixeses ti.
I wanted you to do it yourself.
Fixeses comes from fixeron. The pronoun o goes before the verb because it follows que.
- Oxalá fose verdade!
If only it were true!
Fose serves both ser and ir. With oxalá it presents the wish as unlikely.
- Díxenlles que viñesen cedo.
I told them to come early.
Viñesen comes from viñeron, the preterite of vir.
- Se puidésemos, iriamos todos xuntos.
If we could, we would all go together.
Puidésemos comes from puideron. Compare iriamos, the conditional, which has no written accent.
Common Mistakes
Using a Spanish stem for an irregular verb.
Se tuvese tempo, iría contigo.Se tivese tempo, iría contigo.The Galician preterite of ter is tiven, tiveron, so the subjunctive is tivese. In the same way, use soubese (not supese) and fixese.
Leaving out the accent in the nós and vós forms.
A mestra pediunos que falasemos máis amodo.A mestra pediunos que falásemos máis amodo.The stress falls on the vowel before -se, which is third from the end in falásemos, so it needs a written accent.
How It Connects
Learn This First
The imperfect subjunctive uses a preterite-derived stem with -se endings.
Related Patterns
- Preterite of -er and -ir Verbs
The ellos form of the preterite is the stem every imperfect subjunctive is built on.
Level 2 - Sequence of Tenses With the Subjunctive
Explains when a past main verb calls for this form instead of the present subjunctive.
Level 4 - se + Imperfect SubjunctiveHypothetical Conditions
The most common use of this form: unreal conditions with se.
Level 4 - The Simple Pluperfect (Antepretérito)
The -ra form, which in standard Galician is a past before another past, not a subjunctive.
Level 3 - cantara / cantaseThe -ra and -se Forms
Compares the -ra and -se forms and when careful writing uses each.
Level 5
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Practice The Imperfect Subjunctive in Bubblegum
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