Spanish verbs ending in -car replace the -c- with a -qu- in El Presente de Subjuntivo. This is to preserve the sound from the infinitive.
Here is the conjugation of buscar (to look for) affected by this spelling change:
yo |
busque |
tú |
busques |
él / ella / Ud. |
busque |
nosotros / nosotras |
busquemos |
vosotros/vosotras |
busquéis |
ellos / ellas / Uds. |
busquen |
Read and listen to these examples:
Deja que yo busque la carretera en el mapa.Let me look for the road on the map.
Es bueno que busques más opciones.It is good that you are looking for other options.
Quiero que Matías busque trabajo.I want Matías to look for work.
Busquemos otro bar. Este es muy ruidoso.Let's look for another bar. This one is very noisy.
Queremos que busquéis una solución rápidamente.We want you to look for a solution quickly.
Dudo que busquen un coche deportivo.I doubt they are looking for a sports car.
There are other useful verbs that have the same c > qu spelling change. For example: aparcar (to park), modificar (to modify), explicar (to explain) or equivocarse (to get something wrong).
Look at and listen to these examples:
Será mejor que aparques lejos del centro.It'd be better if you park far from the town centre.
No modifiquéis los informes de ventas.Do not modify the sales reports.
Es necesario que nos expliquen bien la situación.It is vital that they explain the situation clearly.
Aunque yo me equivoque a veces, casi siempre tengo razón.Despite getting things wrong sometimes, I am right most of the time.
Los alumnos quieren que el profesor explique de nuevo la lección.The pupils want the teacher to explain the lesson again.
Tan pronto como aparquéis, avisadnos.As soon as you park, let us know.
See Verb list: -car verbs that c > qu in El Presente de Subjuntivo
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