The Subjunctive Mood of Entretener is used to express desires, doubts, or hypothetical situations, for example: Es importante que te entretengas con actividades sanas. (It’s important that you entertain yourself with healthy activities.)

Entretener is an irregular verb, meaning its conjugation follows a unique pattern that must be memorized.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Entretener (to entertain) in the Subjunctive Mood tense (Castilian Spanish):

Entretener generally means to entertain or amuse, but has several different meanings in the Subjunctive Mood, some of which might surprise you.

To entertain or amuse: for example, Es importante que la película nos entretenga (It’s important that the movie entertains us).

To distract or divert attention: for example, No quiero que me entretengan con tonterías mientras resuelvo este problema (I don’t want them to distract me with nonsense while I solve this problem).

To pass time pleasantly (colloquial): for example, Espero que el juego me entretenga hasta que llegue mi cita (I hope the game keeps me entertained until my date arrives).

To delay or stall (rude): for example, No me entretengas más con excusas, dime la verdad (Don’t stall me any longer with excuses, tell me the truth).

Examples

Examples of Entretener in the Subjunctive Mood

Es importante que los niños entretengan su mente con actividades educativas. (It’s important for children to keep their minds engaged with educational activities.)

Ojalá que el nuevo programa de televisión entretenga a toda la familia. (Hopefully the new TV show entertains the whole family.)

Espero que el evento entretenga a los invitados con música y baile. (I hope the event entertains the guests with music and dancing.)

Me gustaría que entretengamos a los niños con juegos educativos mientras esperamos. (I’d like us to entertain the kids with educational games while we wait.)

Sería bueno que entretengáis a los ancianos con actividades que les gusten. (It would be good for you all to entertain the elderly with activities they enjoy.)

Aunque el vuelo es largo, espero que las películas entretengan a los pasajeros. (Although the flight is long, I hope the movies entertain the passengers.)

Es importante que los padres entretengan a sus hijos con juegos y actividades enriquecedoras. (It’s important for parents to entertain their children with enriching games and activities.)

Ojalá que la nueva aplicación entretenga a los usuarios con contenido interactivo. (Hopefully the new app entertains users with interactive content.)

Para que la fiesta sea un éxito, es necesario que entretengamos a los invitados con buena música y comida. (For the party to be a success, we need to entertain the guests with good music and food.)

Me gustaría que los artistas entretengan al público con actuaciones emocionantes. (I’d like the artists to entertain the audience with exciting performances.)

Sería bueno que entretengáis a los niños con juegos al aire libre durante el campamento. (It would be good for you all to entertain the kids with outdoor games during the camp.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Entretener (to entertain) in the Subjunctive Mood tense (Castilian Spanish) with English Translations:

This post covers Castilian Spanish. For Latin American Spanish, click here

Synonyms

The Subjunctive mood is also known as the Simple Subjunctive, Subjunctive Present, or Present Subjunctive Mood in English, and as Presente de Subjuntivo, Subjuntivo Presente, Presente del Modo Subjuntivo, or Tiempo Presente del Subjuntivo in Spanish.