Pitman's Commercial Spanish Grammar (2nd ed.)

by C. A. Toledano

=Use of Tenses of the Subjunctive Mood=.

The verb in the Subj. Mood is put in the Present tense when the preceding verb is in the Pres. Indic., Future Indic. (simple) or Imperative, as—

Quiero que él lo haga: I want him to do it.
Querré " " ": I shall want " ""
Quiere tú " " ": Want (thou) " ""

Otherwise the verb in the Subjunctive is in the Imperfect tense.

N.B.—When the preceding verb is in the "preterito compuesto," e.g., "he dicho," when "he dicho" stands exactly for the English "I have told," it governs the Pres. Subj., as—

Le he dicho que se vaya: I have told him to go.

But if it stands for the English "I told," it governs the Imperfect
Subj., as

Le dije (he dicho) que se fuese: I told him to go.

When the preceding verb is in the Future Perfect, the verb in the Subjunctive may be put in the Present when its action does not refer to the past, as—

Habré querido que trabaje hoy o mañana: I shall have (may have) wanted him to work to-day or to-morrow.