What is the subjunctive?

The subjunctive is a tense that exists in Spanish but not in English. The two most commonly used forms are the past imperfect and present. It is used with certain triggers (phrases and moods) that can be learnt and memorised. To make the subjuntive, when conjugating an 'ar' verb we use the ending of an 'er'/'ir' verb and vice versa. E.g. Comer --> coma, comas, coma, comamos, comasteis, comaron     Vivir --> viva, vivas, viva, vivamos, vivasteis, vivaron    Hablar --> hable, hables, hable, hablemos, hablesteis, hableron