Form the Subjunctive...The 3-Step Approach

To form a verb in the subjunctive, take this 3 step approach:

1)Take the yo form of the verb from the present indicative
i.e. for the verb tomar(to drink), the yo form will be tomo.

2)Drop the -o from the yo form, so you're left with the root. In this case, you're left with the root tom-.

3)Add the opposite vowel suffix on the end. For -ar verbs, opposite vowel suffixes are -e, -es, -e, -emos, and -en. For -er/-ir verbs, the opposite vowel suffixes are -a, -as, -a, -amos, and -an. So for the verb tomar, the complete conjugation will be:

que yo tome
que tú tomes
que Ud. tome
que nosotros tomemos
que ellos tomen

For an -er/-ir verb like vivir, the complete subjunctive conjugation is:

que yo viva
que tú vivas
que él viva
que nosotros vivamos
que ellos vivan

Notice the first and third person singular conjugations are the same, so the use of a subject pronoun is critical in these instances.