Conversation Prompts: Producing Tense and Mood Choices in Context

Why Conversation Prompts Matter for Tense and Mood Control

Knowing verb forms is not the same as choosing them correctly while speaking. In real conversation you must decide, quickly, whether you are stating a fact, describing a background situation, expressing a wish, giving advice, reporting what someone said, or imagining an alternative reality. Each of those communicative goals pushes you toward certain tense-and-mood combinations. Conversation prompts are a training tool that forces you to make those choices in context, repeatedly, until the choice becomes automatic.

This chapter focuses on production: you will practice selecting tense and mood based on meaning, relationship, and time frame. The goal is not to “name the rule,” but to build a reflex: you hear a prompt, you recognize the communicative intention, and you produce a sentence that matches it.

The Core Skill: Mapping Communicative Intention to Verb Choices

When you speak, you are constantly answering three questions:

• Time: When is this happening relative to now (present, past, future, before another past, etc.)?
• Reality status: Am I presenting this as a fact/observation, or as a wish, doubt, recommendation, possibility, or hypothetical?
• Discourse role: Am I narrating events, giving background, setting conditions, reacting emotionally, or reporting speech?

Conversation prompts work because they package these three questions into a situation. Instead of “Conjugate X,” you get “Your friend is late again; you’re annoyed; you want them to arrive earlier next time.” The situation itself tells you which tense and mood are likely.

Step-by-Step Method: How to Use a Prompt to Produce the Right Structure

Step 1: Identify the communicative move

Ask: What am I doing with language here?

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• Stating information
• Reacting emotionally
• Requesting, advising, insisting
• Expressing doubt/uncertainty
• Setting a condition
• Imagining an alternative reality
• Reporting what someone said/thought

Step 2: Choose the “frame” (tense + mood)

Pick a frame that matches the move. Examples of frames you will practice:

• Present indicative: facts, routines, current states
• Past narration frame: telling what happened vs describing context (you will decide based on the prompt’s intention)
• Future / near-future: plans, predictions, promises
• Conditional: polite requests, hypothetical results
• Present subjunctive: desires, recommendations, doubts about a non-factual outcome
• Past subjunctive (imperfect subjunctive): hypotheticals, wishes about present/ future, or dependent clauses after past triggers

Step 3: Build the sentence in chunks

Use a chunking approach so you are not inventing everything at once:

• Starter: “Creo que… / No creo que… / Me alegra que… / Te recomiendo que… / Si… / Ojalá…”
• Verb phrase: choose the tense/mood frame
• Detail: add time markers, reasons, or consequences

Chunking reduces cognitive load and increases fluency because you reuse reliable openings while varying the verb choices inside them.

Step 4: Add one expansion

To make practice closer to real conversation, add one expansion after your first sentence:

• A reason: “porque…”
• A contrast: “pero…”
• A consequence: “así que…”
• A follow-up question: “¿Qué piensas?”

This forces you to maintain the tense/mood logic across more than one clause.

Prompt Types That Force Tense and Mood Decisions

1) Reaction prompts (emotion + evaluation)

These prompts train you to react to a situation and then talk about what you want to happen next. They often require two different frames: an indicative clause to describe the situation and a subjunctive clause to express the reaction or desired change.

Prompt: “Your roommate plays loud music at night. You’re exhausted. Say how you feel and what you want.”

• Model output: “Me molesta que ponga música tan alta por la noche. Quiero que la baje después de las diez.”
• Expansion: “Si no la baja, mañana no voy a poder trabajar bien.”

Prompt: “A friend got a new job. You’re genuinely happy. Respond and ask a question.”

• Model output: “Me alegra mucho que hayas conseguido el trabajo. ¿Cuándo empiezas?”

2) Advice and influence prompts (recommendations, requests, insistence)

These prompts train you to influence someone else’s actions. The key is to produce a main clause that expresses influence and a dependent clause that expresses the action you want (often framed as not-yet-real).

Prompt: “Your friend is stressed before an exam. Give two pieces of advice.”

• Model output: “Te recomiendo que duermas bien esta noche y que repases solo lo más importante. También es mejor que no te quedes estudiando hasta tarde.”

Prompt: “You’re at a restaurant and the soup is cold. Be polite but firm.”

• Model output: “Disculpe, ¿podría traerme otra sopa? Preferiría que estuviera caliente.”

3) Uncertainty prompts (doubt, probability, “I don’t think…”)

These prompts train you to separate what you treat as information from what you treat as uncertain. The same topic can be framed as certain or uncertain depending on the prompt.

Prompt: “Your coworker says the meeting is canceled, but you’re not sure. Respond.”

• Model output: “No estoy seguro de que se cancele la reunión. Voy a confirmar con la jefa.”

Prompt: “You think your friend is exaggerating. Say it diplomatically.”

• Model output: “No creo que sea tan grave. Quizás podamos solucionarlo hoy.”

4) Condition prompts (realistic vs hypothetical)

Condition prompts are powerful because they force you to choose between a realistic condition and a hypothetical one. The prompt itself signals whether the condition is likely/possible now, or imagined/contrary to reality.

Prompt: “If you have time tonight, call me. (It’s possible.)”

• Model output: “Si tienes tiempo esta noche, llámame.”

Prompt: “If I had more time, I would travel more. (It’s not true now.)”

• Model output: “Si tuviera más tiempo, viajaría más.”

Prompt: “If you had told me earlier, I would have helped. (Past hypothetical.)”

• Model output: “Si me lo hubieras dicho antes, te habría ayudado.”

5) Reported speech prompts (shifting perspective and time)

In conversation you often summarize what someone said, promised, denied, or suggested. These prompts train you to maintain the original meaning while adjusting the verb choices to match the reporting frame.

Prompt: “Your friend says: ‘I’m going to arrive at eight.’ Report it to someone else.”

• Model output: “Dijo que iba a llegar a las ocho.”

Prompt: “Your doctor told you: ‘Don’t drink alcohol this week.’ Report it.”

• Model output: “Me dijo que no bebiera alcohol esta semana.”

Prompt: “Your boss asked: ‘Please send the file today.’ Report it.”

• Model output: “Me pidió que enviara el archivo hoy.”

6) Negotiation prompts (politeness, softening, and conditional)

Real conversations require tone control. The conditional is a frequent tool for softening requests and proposals. These prompts train you to choose forms that match social distance and politeness.

Prompt: “You need a favor from a colleague you don’t know well. Ask politely.”

• Model output: “¿Podrías ayudarme un momento? Me gustaría que me explicaras este informe.”

Prompt: “You want to change a plan without sounding demanding.”

• Model output: “¿Te parecería bien si lo dejamos para mañana? Así tendríamos más tiempo.”

7) “Two-timeline” prompts (before/after relationships)

Many tense choices are really about ordering events: one action happens before another, or a result is already completed by a reference point. These prompts train you to express “already,” “not yet,” “as soon as,” and “by the time.”

Prompt: “By the time you arrived, we had already eaten.”

• Model output: “Cuando llegaste, ya habíamos comido.”

Prompt: “As soon as I finish, I’ll call you.”

• Model output: “En cuanto termine, te llamo.”

Prompt: “I’ll do it after you tell me the details.”

• Model output: “Lo hago después de que me digas los detalles.”

How to Turn Prompts into a Speaking Drill (Practical Routine)

Routine A: 60-second prompt cycles

Use a timer and repeat short cycles to simulate real-time pressure.

• 0–10 seconds: Read the prompt and identify the communicative move (emotion, advice, doubt, condition, report).
• 10–30 seconds: Produce one sentence using a starter chunk.
• 30–45 seconds: Add an expansion clause (because, but, so, when, if).
• 45–60 seconds: Rephrase the same idea with a different starter (e.g., change “Creo que…” to “Es posible que…” or change a direct request to a softened one).

This routine builds flexibility: you learn that tense and mood are not one-to-one with a topic; they are tied to your communicative intention.

Routine B: Partner role-play with “frame cards”

If you practice with a partner (or record yourself responding to imagined lines), add a constraint: you must include a specific frame at least once.

• Card examples: “Use a hypothetical condition,” “Include a reported request,” “Include a wish,” “Include a polite conditional request.”

Example role-play:

• Partner: “I can’t go to your party.”
• You (wish + hypothetical): “Ojalá pudieras venir. Si cambiaras de opinión, sería genial.”

Routine C: Prompt ladder (same topic, escalating complexity)

Choose one topic and climb a ladder of increasingly complex frames. This prevents “topic comfort” from hiding weak grammar choices.

Topic: moving to a new apartment

• Level 1 (fact): “Me mudo el sábado.”
• Level 2 (plan + reason): “Me voy a mudar el sábado porque el alquiler subió.”
• Level 3 (request): “¿Puedes ayudarme a cargar las cajas?”
• Level 4 (recommendation to someone else): “Te aconsejo que no te mudes en invierno.”
• Level 5 (doubt): “No creo que terminemos a tiempo.”
• Level 6 (hypothetical): “Si tuviera un ascensor, sería más fácil.”
• Level 7 (reported speech): “El casero dijo que arreglaría la puerta.”

Conversation Prompt Bank (Use These to Produce, Not Translate)

For each prompt, speak for 20–40 seconds. Aim for: (1) one main sentence, (2) one dependent clause, (3) one expansion. Record yourself and listen for whether your verb choices match the intention.

Emotion + evaluation prompts

• Your friend canceled at the last minute. Express disappointment and what you want next time.
• You’re relieved about a change at work. Explain why.
• Something worries you about a family member’s health. Say what you hope happens.
• You’re surprised that someone knows your hometown. React and ask a question.

Advice + influence prompts

• A friend wants to quit their job impulsively. Advise them to wait and plan.
• Your sibling drives too fast. Insist on a change.
• You’re mentoring a new coworker. Suggest a better way to organize tasks.
• You need your neighbor to lower the volume. Ask politely but clearly.

Doubt + probability prompts

• You suspect a website is not safe. Warn a friend using uncertainty language.
• You’re not convinced the plan will work. Propose an alternative.
• Someone claims they saw a celebrity. Respond skeptically but politely.
• You’re unsure whether the store is open. Explain what you’ll do to check.

Conditions + hypotheticals prompts

• If it rains tomorrow, you will change your plans. Explain what you’ll do instead.
• If you had a month off, what would you do? Give two options and a reason.
• If you had studied more, how would your life be different now? Mention one consequence.
• If your friend calls you tonight, what will you tell them?

Reported speech prompts

• Your friend promised: “I’ll help you tomorrow.” Report it to your partner.
• Your teacher said: “Don’t submit it late.” Report it and explain your plan.
• Your coworker suggested: “Let’s meet earlier.” Report it and react.
• Someone asked you: “Can you send me the address?” Report it.

Politeness + negotiation prompts

• You want a refund, but you want to sound calm and reasonable.
• You need to reschedule an appointment. Offer two alternative times.
• You disagree with a friend’s opinion. Respond without sounding aggressive.
• You want to borrow something valuable. Ask carefully and add reassurance.

Self-Checking: Quick Diagnostics While Speaking

After you respond to a prompt, do a 10-second check. You are not hunting for perfection; you are verifying that your verb choices match your intention.

• Reality check: Did I present it as fact, or as desired/uncertain/hypothetical? Do my verb choices match that?
• Time check: Did I anchor events clearly (now, before, after, by the time)?
• Dependency check: If I used a trigger phrase (emotion, advice, doubt, request), did I follow it with the appropriate dependent-clause framing?
• Politeness check: If the prompt required softening, did I use a polite frame (e.g., conditional, indirect phrasing) rather than a blunt command?

Common Prompt Pitfalls (and How to Fix Them in Real Time)

Pitfall 1: You answer the topic, not the intention

Problem: The prompt is about uncertainty, but you respond with a confident factual statement.

Fix: Add a doubt marker and rebuild the clause: “No estoy seguro de que…” / “Es posible que…” / “Puede que…”

Micro-drill: Say the same content twice: once as a fact, once as a doubt.

He is at home. / It’s possible he’s at home.

Pitfall 2: You avoid dependent clauses to avoid mood choices

Problem: You keep producing short independent sentences to dodge the harder structure.

Fix: Force one dependent clause per response. Use a starter that requires it: “Quiero que…” “Me alegra que…” “Dudo que…” “Es importante que…” “Si…”

Pitfall 3: You overuse one “safe” frame

Problem: Everything becomes present tense or a single past frame.

Fix: Use the rephrase step: same meaning, new frame. For example, turn a direct request into a polite conditional request, or turn a plan into a prediction.

Pitfall 4: Hypotheticals sound like plans

Problem: You describe an unreal situation as if it were a real future plan.

Fix: Add a clear “unreal” signal: “Si tuviera…” / “Si pudiera…” / “Ojalá…” and then state the result with a hypothetical tone.

Mini Scripts: Ready-to-Use Conversational Templates

Use these as scaffolding. Replace the details, keep the structure, and focus on choosing the correct tense/mood inside the template.

Template 1: Complaint + request + consequence

Me molesta que _____. ¿Podrías _____? Si no _____, entonces _____.

Template 2: Doubt + verification plan

No estoy seguro de que _____. Voy a _____ para confirmar.

Template 3: Advice + reason + alternative

Te recomiendo que ____ porque _____. Si no puedes, podrías _____.

Template 4: Hypothetical + result + personal preference

Si _____, _____ . Yo preferiría _____ porque _____.

Template 5: Reported request + your response

Me pidió que _____. Le dije que _____, pero que _____.