alegar Present Subjunctive Conjugation
alegar — to allege
The present subjunctive of alegar requires a spelling change to 'alegue' to keep the hard 'g' sound.
alegar Present Subjunctive Forms
When to Use the Present Subjunctive
Use this when expressing doubt, desire, or necessity regarding someone's claims, such as 'Espero que no aleguen ignorancia' (I hope they don't claim ignorance).
Notes on alegar in the Present Subjunctive
This tense is 'orthographic regular.' To keep the 'g' sounding hard (like in 'gas') before the letter 'e', you must add a 'u', changing 'g' to 'gu' in all forms (alegue, alegues, etc.).
Example Sentences
No creo que él alegue una excusa válida.
I don't think he will allege a valid excuse.
él/ella/usted
Es importante que aleguemos nuestros derechos.
It is important that we claim our rights.
nosotros
Dudo que ellos aleguen falta de tiempo.
I doubt they will allege a lack of time.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Writing 'alege' instead of 'alegue'.
Correct: alegue
Why: In Spanish, 'ge' sounds like a breathy 'h'. You need the 'u' to maintain the hard 'g' sound from the infinitive 'alegar'.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: alego
Alegar is a completely regular -ar verb in the present indicative: alego, alegas, alega.
Preterite
yo: alegué
Alegar is regular in the preterite except for the 'yo' form, which changes to 'alegué'.
Imperfect
yo: alegaba
The imperfect of alegar is regular: alegaba, alegabas, alegaba, alegábamos.
Future
yo: alegaré
The future of alegar is regular: add endings to the infinitive (alegaré, alegarás, alegará).
Conditional
yo: alegaría
The conditional of alegar is regular: add -ía endings to the infinitive (alegaría, alegarías).
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: alegara
The imperfect subjunctive of alegar is formed regularly from the third-person plural preterite: alegara, alegaras, alegara.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: alega
The imperative of alegar uses 'alega' for tú and 'alegue' for usted.
Negative Imperative
yo: no alegues
The negative imperative of alegar uses 'no' plus the present subjunctive: no alegues, no alegue.