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SpanishConjugationSubjunctive

Querer (to want) · Subjunctive

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Querer in the Spanish present subjunctive (presente de subjuntivo) is: yo quiera, tú quieras, él/ella/usted quiera, nosotros/as queramos, vosotros/as queráis, ellos/ellas/ustedes quieran. The present subjunctive of querer keeps the e→ie stem change in stressed forms (quiera, quieras, quiera, quieran) and reverts in nosotros/vosotros (queramos, queráis). It appears after triggers of doubt, emotion, or hypothetical wanting.

querer conjugation in the Present Subjunctive (Presente de subjuntivo)
To WantQuerer
I want
yo quiera
you want
tú quieras
he/she want
él/ella/usted quiera
we want
nosotros/as queramos
you want
vosotros/as queráis
they want
ellos/ellas/ustedes quieran
Examples

Querer (to want) in context

Sentences that use querer in the subjunctive. Tap each to hear it.

Mi madre quiere que quiera estudiar medicina.

My mother wants me to want to study medicine.

Espero que quieras quedarte un rato más.

I hope you want to stay a bit longer.

Es raro que no quiera venir.

It's strange that he/she doesn't want to come.

Esperan que queramos participar.

They hope we want to participate.

Espero que queráis volver pronto.

I hope you want to come back soon.

Dudo que quieran mudarse este año.

I doubt they want to move this year.

Tip

Working with the subjunctive

The subjunctive isn't a tense — it's a mood. It signals that the speaker views the action as uncertain, desired, or evaluated rather than asserted as fact. Triggers come in four families: WEIRDO (Wishes, Emotion, Impersonal expressions, Recommendations, Doubt, Ojalá) is the standard mnemonic. When you see "que" after one of these triggers, the verb that follows is almost always subjunctive. The irregular subjunctive stem comes from the yo form of the present indicative — learn "hago" and you know "haga" is the subjunctive stem.

Questions

Frequently asked questions

How do you conjugate querer in the present subjunctive?
The present subjunctive of querer is: yo quiera, tú quieras, él/ella/usted quiera, nosotros/as queramos, vosotros/as queráis, ellos/ellas/ustedes quieran. The e→ie stem-change applies in stressed forms; nosotros and vosotros keep 'e' because the stress shifts to the ending.
When do I need to use the subjunctive of querer?
Use it after triggers of doubt, emotion, will, hope, or future-pointing 'cuando': 'Espero que quieras venir' (I hope you want to come), 'Dudo que quieran ayudar' (I doubt they want to help), 'Cuando quiera, podemos salir' (When you want, we can leave). 'No quiero que...' followed by a different subject is one of the most common subjunctive triggers: 'No quiero que te vayas' (I don't want you to leave).
What's the difference between 'querer que' + subjunctive and 'querer + infinitive'?
Use 'querer + infinitive' when the subject of both verbs is the same: 'Quiero aprender' (I want to learn — I am the learner). Use 'querer que + subjunctive' when the subjects differ: 'Quiero que aprendas' (I want you to learn — I am the wanter, you are the learner). Confusing the two produces ungrammatical Spanish: 'quiero aprendes' is not a sentence.
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More tenses of Querer (To Want)

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Querer (to want) · Imperfect
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