The Subjunctive Mood of Costar is used to express wishes, emotions, doubts, or uncertainties about the cost of something, for example: Ojalá que no te cueste mucho esfuerzo. (I hope it doesn’t cost you much effort.)

Costar is a stem-changing verb, meaning the vowel in the stem changes from ‘o’ to ‘ue’ in some conjugations. This pattern is common among Spanish verbs and must be memorized.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Costar (to cost) in the Subjunctive Mood tense (Latin American Spanish):

The present subjunctive of costar is used to express wishes, desires, doubts, or uncertainty about the cost or difficulty of something.

To express a wish or desire: For example, Ojalá no me cueste mucho terminar este proyecto. (I hope it doesn’t cost me a lot to finish this project.)

To express doubt or uncertainty: For example, No sé cuánto me cueste ir de vacaciones este año. (I don’t know how much it will cost me to go on vacation this year.)

To express difficulty or effort: For example, Me cuesta mucho levantarme temprano. (It’s very difficult for me to wake up early.)

Colloquial usage: In some Latin American countries, costar can be used idiomatically to mean “to be difficult to understand or accept something.” For example, Me cuesta entender por qué hizo eso. (It’s hard for me to understand why he/she did that.)

Examples

Examples of Costar in the Subjunctive Mood

Es importante que el viaje no cueste demasiado. (It’s important that the trip doesn’t cost too much.)

Ojalá que la reparación del auto no cueste una fortuna. (Hopefully the car repair doesn’t cost a fortune.)

Prefiero que cueste un poco más pero que sea de buena calidad. (I prefer that it costs a bit more but is good quality.)

Aunque cueste trabajo, hay que terminar el proyecto a tiempo. (Even if it takes effort, we have to finish the project on time.)

El jefe quiere que las reparaciones no cuesten más de lo presupuestado. (The boss wants the repairs not to cost more than budgeted.)

Mis padres insisten en que mis estudios no cuesten un ojo de la cara. (My parents insist that my studies don’t cost an arm and a leg.)

Aunque cueste un esfuerzo extra, hay que hacer ejercicio regularmente. (Even if it takes extra effort, we have to exercise regularly.)

Espero que las entradas para el concierto no cuesten un dineral. (I hope the concert tickets don’t cost a fortune.)

Es fundamental que cueste lo que cueste, logremos nuestras metas. (It’s essential that no matter what it costs, we achieve our goals.)

Voy a ahorrar para que la boda no nos cueste un ojo de la cara. (I’m going to save so the wedding doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.)

Aunque cueste trabajo al principio, aprender un idioma nuevo vale la pena. (Even if it’s difficult at first, learning a new language is worth it.)

Mis amigos esperan que las vacaciones no nos cuesten un dineral. (My friends hope the vacation doesn’t cost us a fortune.)

Es preferible que la mudanza cueste un poco más pero que sea con una empresa de confianza. (It’s better that the move costs a bit more but is with a reliable company.)

Haré lo que cueste con tal de conseguir ese trabajo. (I’ll do whatever it takes to get that job.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Costar (to cost) in the Subjunctive Mood tense (Latin American Spanish) with English Translations:

This post covers Latin American Spanish. For Castilian 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.