Conseguir Subjunctive Conjugation: Present & Imperfect

Conseguir una meta = To achieve a goal

Present Subjunctive of Conseguir

We use the subjunctive to express information which is not factual or certain, but subjective, like wishes, doubts and possibilities. If we talk about the present or the future, we need to use the present subjunctive.

In order to form it we need to take the first person singular (yo) of the present indicative. Can you remember how to say 'I get' or 'I achieve' in Spanish?

This is a tricky question, since conseguir is an irregular verb, so there is a vocalic change in its stem: (yo) consigo.

Now use this stem (consig-) and add the subjunctive endings:

Present Subjunctive Uses & Examples

Expressing Wishes:

The most typical formulas to express wishes are:

• Espero que… ('I hope…')
• Quiero que… ('I want…')
• Ojalá... ('Hopefully...')

Your sister has just been selected for a job interview in a prestigious company. You are ecstatic and wishes her the best, so you say:

• Espero que lo consigas. ('I hope you get it'.)

She replies:

• ¡Sí, ojalá lo consiga! ('Yes, I wish I got it!') Es el trabajo de mis sueños. ('It's my dream job'.)

Espero que lo consigas = I hope you get it

Now think about what you would like to achieve and make a sentence with any of the expressions above.

Possibilities

To talk about present or future possibilities use:

• Posiblemente…/Probablemente... ('Possibly…/Probably...')
• Quizás.../Puede que... ('Maybe...')
• Es posible que... ('It's possible that...')

Your sister is not very self-confident at times:

• Puede que no consiga el trabajo. ('Maybe I won't get the job'.)

But you prefer seeing the glass half full:

• Es posible que lo consigas. ('It's posible that you'll get it'.) No seas gafe. ('Don't be a jinx!')

Negative Suppositions

Use the structure No + pensar/creer/imaginar ('to think/to imagine') + que.

You are taking part in an art group project at school. There will be a prize competition and you are going to participate. You say:

• No creo que consigamos el primer premio, pero trabajaremos duro. ('I don't think we will get the first prize, but we will work hard'.)

Imperfect Subjunctive of Conseguir

To form the imperfect subjunctive follow these steps:

1. Take the third person plural of the preterite. Note: The preterite of conseguir is irregular (ellos consiguieron). Notice that we add an u after the g to keep the soft sound (/g/). Otherwise, it would sound like the English /h/.
2. Use that stem (consiguie-).
3. Add the two possible set of endings to this stem.

Note: The imperfect subjunctive is the only tense that allows two possible conjugations (-RA and -SE). You can use them indistinctly.