In Spanish, the imperfect subjunctive is the tense you must use to talk about past wishes, demands, emotions, or doubts someone had about an action. Additionally, this tense also allows you to express conditions and desires that have a remote chance of coming true. Since it’s important for communication, this imperfect subjunctive Spanish practice quiz is meant to test your knowledge of this tense.
Te pedí que no (ir) a esa fiesta.
I asked you not to go to that party.
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This sentence refers to a past petition the speaker did to someone. The indirect pronoun ‘te’ conveys that person is ‘you’. As a result, the correct conjugation of ‘ir’ is fueras.
Esperaba que ellos (ganar) el juego.
I hoped that they would win the game.
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‘Esperaba que’ expresses a desired outcome or hope in the past. Therefore, the correct answer for this example is ‘ganaran’.
No creí que ella (saber) la respuesta correcta.
I doubt that she knew the correct answer.
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Among its uses, the past subjunctive in Spanish expresses doubt or uncertainty about a past action. Remember that ‘saber’ has an irregular conjugation. So, in this example, ‘supiera’ is the conjugation you must use.
¿Qué cosas harían si (ser) más valientes?
What things would you do if you were braver?
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This sentence communicates hypothetical situations that are unlikely to change. Since the third-person plural preterite form of ser is fueron, the past subjunctive conjugation for this example would be ‘fueran’.
Era importante que nosotros (tomar) una decisión rápidamente.
It was important for us to make a decision quickly.
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“It was important that” is a phrase that triggers this mood because it expresses a subjective desired past action. Remember that the imperfect subjunctive forms for ‘nosotros’ have an accent mark on the vowel that precedes the past subjunctive endings.
Sally quería que yo (venir) a la reunión.
Sally wanted me to come to the meeting.
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In Spanish, the verb querer expresses wishes and requests. Since this sentence is conjugated in past form, we must use the past subjunctive tense to complete the example. ‘Viniera’ is the correct conjugation for ‘yo’.
No creía que él (poder) resolver el problema solo.
I didn't believe that he could solve the problem alone.
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‘No creía que’ expresses doubt about someone's ability to solve the problem alone in the past. ‘Pudiera’ is the correct answer in this example.
Yo le pedí a mi mamá que (preparar) más galletas.
I asked my mom to prepare more cookies.
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‘Pedir’ is a Spanish verb that conveys requests or demands. The fact that it refers to a past request triggers the imperfect subjunctive. Since I’m talking about what I requested from mom (third-person singular), ‘preparara’ is the conjugation we must use.
No estaba seguro de que tú (recordar) su nombre.
I wasn't sure that you remembered her name.
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The expression ‘no estaba seguro de que’ conveys uncertainty about you remembering a person’s name. As a result, ‘recordaras’ is the right conjugation for this example.
Le dije a tus hermanos que te (dar) tu dinero.
I told your brothers to give you your money.
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‘Decir que’ often relates to making requests. Since this demand was made to a plural group of people (tus hermanos), ‘dieron’ is the verb form you must use in this case.
Quiz Results
| Question | Answer Given | Correct Answer | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Te pedí que no ______ (ir) a esa fiesta. | |||
| Esperaba que ellos ______ (ganar) el juego. | |||
| No creí que ella ______ (saber) la respuesta correcta. | |||
| ¿Qué cosas harían si _____ (ser) más valientes? | |||
| Era importante que nosotros ______ (tomar) una decisión rápidamente. | |||
| Sally quería que yo ______ (venir) a la reunión. | |||
| No creía que él ______ (poder) resolver el problema solo. | |||
| Yo le pedí a mi mamá que ______ (preparar) más galletas. | |||
| No estaba seguro de que tú ______ (recordar) su nombre. | |||
| Le dije a tus hermanos que te _______ (dar) tu dinero. |
Imperfect Subjunctive Spanish Practice Quiz Instructions
This imperfect subjunctive quiz has 10 fill-in-the-blank questions. Read each sentence carefully and complete it by typing the correct form of the verb in the past subjunctive. To make things easier, you only have to use the endings –ra.
Remember that some pronouns use accented endings. We’ve included some accented vowels you can insert into your answer.
Notes about the Spanish Past Subjunctive Tense
Here is a summary of the past subjunctive in Spanish:
- The past imperfect subjunctive has two sets of endings -ra and -se.
- The conjugations of the imperfect subjunctive are derived from the 3rd person plural preterite form.
- The steps to conjugate a verb in this tense are:
- Take the 3rd person plural preterite form of the verb you need to conjugate.
- Remove the preterite ending -ron.
- Add the corresponding imperfect subjunctive ending.
- Irregular verbs in the preterite tense are also irregular in the imperfect subjunctive.
- The Spanish imperfect subjunctive is used to express past wishes, uncertainty, feelings, and suggestions you had in the past.
- It’s also used to express wishes or conditions that were unlikely to happen.