13 Subjunctive expressions for everyday use

The subjunctive mood in Spanish is going to be a major thorn in your side when it’s time to buckle down and learn it.  And if your goal is to be conversational or fluent one day, you’re going to have to learn it.

But guess what?  Even if you don’t know anything about the subjunctive you can still use it in conversation.

Today I’m giving you 13 subjunctive phrases that anyone can use, even beginners.   There’s no need to learn a bunch of grammar rules, just memorize the expressions below and start impressing your Spanish speaking friends.

Before I let you dive into the phrases below, we need to talk about the ones that start with “qué”.  

There’s an invisible but understood word at the beginning of the sentence, “espero” from the verb esperar.

The word “espero”  means “I hope”.   It’s what makes the phrase subjunctive.   Let’s take a look at an example.

Qué descanses
I hope you get some rest

“Qué descanses” is actually “Espero que descanses”.

It’s perfectly acceptable to say it this way, but native speakers nearly always drop the “espero”.   So if you want to sound more native I suggest you do the same.

And for today’s lesson that’s all the grammar you need to know.

By the way, I translated “Qué descanses” as “I hope you get some rest”, but you can also think of it simply as “get some rest”.

Now let’s get on to the rest of the expressions.

Qué estés bien
I hope you’re doing well

Qué te mejores
I hope you feel better soon

Qué te diviertas
Have fun

Qué la pases bien
Have a good time

Qué disfrutes
Enjoy

Qué tengas buen día
Have a good day

Of course you can substitute “día” for “tarde” or “noche”.

Qué tengas un buen fin de semana
Have a good weekend

Qué tengas buen viaje
Have a good trip

Qué dios te bendiga
God bless you

Espero qué sí
I hope so

Espero qué no
I hope not

Me alegra que te sientas mejor
I’m glad you feel better

And there you go.  

If you need some advice on how to best learn the subjunctive (it’s a massive topic) the read my article:

4 Tips to make learning the Spanish Subjunctive Mood Easy
https://helpingyoulearnspanish.com/tips-for-learning-the-spanish-subjunctive-mood/

And that’s it, ¡ojalá que te sirva!