negar Present Subjunctive Conjugation
negar — deny
The present subjunctive of negar features both a stem change (ie) and a spelling change (gu).
negar Present Subjunctive Forms
When to Use the Present Subjunctive
Use this when expressing doubt, emotion, or desire about someone denying something (e.g., 'I hope he doesn't deny it').
Notes on negar in the Present Subjunctive
It combines the stem change (e > ie) in the 'boot' forms and the spelling change (g > gu) in ALL forms to maintain the hard 'g' sound.
Example Sentences
Espero que ella no niegue la verdad.
I hope she doesn't deny the truth.
él/ella/usted
Es posible que neguemos la invitación.
It's possible that we might deny (decline) the invitation.
nosotros
Dudo que ellos nieguen su participación.
I doubt they will deny their participation.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: niege
Correct: niegue
Why: You must include the 'u' to keep the 'g' hard. 'Niege' would be pronounced 'ni-e-he'.
Mistake: nieguemos
Correct: neguemos
Why: The nosotros form keeps the 'gu' for sound, but loses the 'ie' stem change.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: niego
Negar is a stem-changer (e > ie) in all forms except nosotros and vosotros.
Preterite
yo: negué
Negar has a spelling change in the 'yo' form (negué) to keep the hard 'g' sound, but is otherwise regular.
Imperfect
yo: negaba
Negar is completely regular in the imperfect: negaba, negabas, negaba...
Future
yo: negaré
Negar is completely regular in the future tense; just add the endings to the infinitive.
Conditional
yo: negaría
The conditional of negar is regular: negaría, negarías, negaría...
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: negara
The imperfect subjunctive of negar is formed from the third-person plural preterite: negara, negaras, negara...
Affirmative Imperative
yo: niega
Use 'niega' (tú) or 'niegue' (usted) to command someone to deny something.
Negative Imperative
yo: no niegues
The negative imperative of negar uses 'no' + present subjunctive forms.