servir Present Subjunctive Conjugation
servir — to serve
The present subjunctive of servir uses the 'i' stem change in ALL forms: sirva, sirvas, sirva, sirvamos, sirváis, sirvan.
servir Present Subjunctive Forms
When to Use the Present Subjunctive
Use this when expressing a wish, doubt, or request about what someone should serve or if something should work.
Notes on servir in the Present Subjunctive
Unlike the present indicative, the 'i' change occurs in every single person, including nosotros and vosotros.
Example Sentences
Espero que nos sirvan la comida pronto.
I hope they serve us the food soon.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Dudo que esto sirva para arreglar el coche.
I doubt this will serve to fix the car.
él/ella/usted
El jefe quiere que nosotros sirvamos a los clientes ahora.
The boss wants us to serve the customers now.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: servamos
Correct: sirvamos
Why: Forgetting that in the subjunctive, -ir stem-changing verbs usually change in the nosotros form too.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: sirvo
Servir has an e > i stem change in all present forms except nosotros and vosotros: sirvo, sirves, sirve, servimos, servís, sirven.
Preterite
yo: serví
In the preterite, servir only changes e > i in the third-person forms: sirvió and sirvieron.
Imperfect
yo: servía
The imperfect of servir is completely regular: servía, servías, servía, servíamos, servíais, servían.
Future
yo: serviré
The future of servir is regular: attach -é, -ás, -á, -emos, -éis, -án to the infinitive.
Conditional
yo: serviría
The conditional of servir is regular: add -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían to the infinitive.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: sirviera
The imperfect subjunctive of servir is based on the preterite 'sirvieron' stem: sirviera, sirvieras, sirviera, etc.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: sirve
The imperative of servir uses 'sirve' for tú and 'sirva' for usted, with 'servid' being the only form without the 'i' change.
Negative Imperative
yo: no sirvas
The negative imperative of servir uses the present subjunctive forms: no sirvas, no sirva, no sirvamos, no sirváis, no sirvan.