Wish List
Make wishes and react to a friend's news like you mean it — out loud.
Ojalá always takes the subjunctive, and the tense sets the odds. Present subjunctive for a hope that can still come true: Ojalá apruebe el examen, ojalá no llueva. Imperfect subjunctive for the unlikely or impossible: Ojalá pudiera volar, ojalá tuviera más tiempo — I wish. The same mood powers every emotional reaction to someone else's news: Me alegra que hayas conseguido el trabajo, siento que estés pasando por esto — emotion + que + subjunctive, always. Only when the subject doesn't change do you switch to the infinitive: Me alegro de estar aquí, but me alegra que estés aquí.
Below: wishes and reactions phrase by phrase, how locals cheer and commiserate across the map, the indicative slip that flags a learner — and a way to practise reacting in a real spoken exchange, no flashcards anywhere.
Say this
Regional Spanish
Textbooks teach one word. Locals use several — pick your region's and stay consistent.
| English | Argentina | Colombia |
|---|---|---|
| how great (that…)! | ¡qué copado! | ¡qué chévere! |
| what a shame | qué bajón | qué pesar |
| buddy (between friends) | che | parce |
Watch out
The part no drill site can do
Carla
Your grammar teacher for this pack
There are no flashcards in the Wish List lessons — you react, out loud, the way friends do. Carla drops a piece of news on you — Mi amigo se mudó a otra ciudad — and you answer it three different ways: glad, sorry, surprised, each with its trigger and its subjunctive. Good news gets ¡Me alegra mucho que hayas aprobado! Ojalá te den una beca también; hard news gets Siento que haya pasado eso. Ojalá puedas solucionarlo pronto. And when you're ready, she reaches into regret: Ojalá hubiera estudiado más — what you wish had gone differently, said in the moment, not written in a workbook.
Blank mid-sentence and nothing bad happens — she waits. That's the practice, without unnecessary judgement.
Finish the 6 lessons and Wish List is yours — earned, not given.
First 10 lessons free · 10-minute spoken lessons · your AI coaching team remembers you
Quick answers
It means I hope or if only, and it always triggers the subjunctive: Ojalá te mejores pronto — I hope you get better soon. The que is optional (Ojalá que haga buen tiempo mañana), and in Mexico you'll constantly hear the variant ojalá y.
When the wish is unlikely or contrary to fact: Ojalá viviera cerca del mar — I wish I lived near the sea (I don't). Present subjunctive keeps the hope alive (Ojalá no llueva el fin de semana); pluperfect turns it into regret: Ojalá hubiera estudiado más.
Me alegra que vengas — an emotion about someone else's action always takes the subjunctive, never the indicative. The whole family works the same way: me encanta que, me sorprende que, me preocupa que, me molesta que + subjunctive.
Siento que estés pasando por esto — I'm sorry you're going through this — or lamento que no haya salido bien for an outcome. The warm Latin American version: Me da mucha pena que estés pasando por eso.
When the subject doesn't change. Same person feeling and doing: Me alegro de estar aquí (I'm glad I'm here). Different people: que + subjunctive — Me alegra que estés aquí (I'm glad you're here).
