Giving Clinical Recommendations in Spanish

In this free Medical Spanish lesson, you will learn how to give clinical recommendations in Spanish and how to start using the subjunctive: Cómo dar recomendaciones clínicas en español y empezar a usar el subjuntivo.

This lesson will provide you with two ways to give clinical recommendations in Spanish: one for beginners and the other for intermediate and advanced medical Spanish learners so you can start using the subjunctive right away in your clinic.

In this free Medical Spanish lesson we will be talking about:

1. Frases de recomendación / Common phrases to give recommendations
2. Verbos buenos para recomendaciones / Good verbs that fit well with recommendations
3. El presente del subjuntivo / The Present Subjunctive
4. Unas situaciones de práctica / Some situations for practice

Here is the Giving Clinical Recommendations in Spanish lesson that I taught on YouTube and to our Facebook group:

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Frases de recomendación – Recommendation Phrases

Let’s start with some common phrases you may use when talking to your patient. Notice that some of them follow a similar structure: Verb in the yo form + que + subject.

• Recomiendo que usted… (I recommend that you…)
• Quiero que usted… (I want you to…)
• Prefiero que usted… (I prefer that you…)
• Le aconsejo que usted… (I suggest / counsel you to…)
• Pido que usted… (I ask/request you to…)
• Es importante que usted… (It is important that you…)
• Es necesario que usted… (It is necessary that you…)

Verbos de recomendación

These verbs are some of the things you probably recommend your patient to do to improve their health condition.

Unos ejemplos:

• Es importante que usted baje de peso para controlar su presión
  • It is important for you to lose weight to control your blood pressure

• Recomiendo que usted haga más ejercicio para ayudar a controlar el azúcar
  • I recommend that you do more exercise to help control your blood sugar

• Quiero que usted regrese a la clínica en 2 meses
  • I want you to return to the clinic in 2 months

• Le aconsejo a usted que hable con su familia sobre su condición
  • I advise you to talk to your family about your condition

• Prefiero que deje de fumar
  • I prefer that you stop smoking

¿Qué está pasando con estos verbos?

Did you notice the ending of the Spanish verbs you use?

Bajar > baje
Hacer > haga
Regresar > regrese
Hablar > hable
Dejar > deje

Yes, they look similar to the usted commands 🙂 So let’s review the steps you need to follow in order to get the command form in Spanish:

3 pasos para formar el mandato Usted:

1. Go to the “yo”
2. Drop the “o”
3. Add opposite ending
   • ar verbs go to > e,
   • er/ir verb > a

This is the way you get the Usted command but there is also the way you get El Subjuntivo in Spanish.

¿Qué es el subjuntivo? – What is the subjunctive?

Es un modo verbal avanzado. Si eres principiante, hay una alternativa que puedes usar:
It is an advanced verbal mode. If you’re a beginner, there is a workaround you can use:

What you can do is avoid changing the subject (que usted) and go with the infinitive verb. It is a little less direct but it still works:

• Es importante que usted bajar de peso (It is important to lose weight)
• Recomiendo que usted hacer más ejercicio. (I recommend to do more exercise)
• Es buena idea dejar de fumar (It’s a good idea to stop smoking)

This is the best way to work around the subjunctive but I recommend you to keep learning because it is super common among Spanish speakers 😉

If you are ready for El Subjuntivo, you will see a lot of doors being opened for better communication

The subjunctive opens the world to a communication style and provides variety and color to your speaking, so you will feel more connected with the language you are learning. Of course, it takes time to master but once you get it, you will enjoy it.

La conjugación – The conjugation

First to all, let’s review the steps one more time:

• Go to the “yo” (present tense)
• Drop the “o”
• Add the opposite ending

Verbos -ar (bajar)

Verbos -er/-ir (comer)

Un uso en específico… A Specific Use

Today we are learning how to use the subjunctive in one specific way: To give recommendations, express wishes, express your preference to another person.

Estamos viendo cómo darle un uso específico: Para dar recomendaciones, expresar deseos, expresar tu preferencia a otra persona

Puedes usar esta fórmula:

Subject 1 Verb 1 + que + Subject 2 Verb 2

Ejemplos:

• Yo recomiendo que usted haga más ejercicio… (I recommend that you get more exercise…)
• Yo quiero que usted regrese a la clínica… (I want you to return to the clinic)
• Yo le aconsejo a usted que hable … (I suggest/advise you to speak…)
• Yo prefiero que usted deje de fumar (I’d prefer that you quit smoking)

Unas situaciones para practicar…

Situación 1:

Hombre de 50 años con diabetes y una receta nueva para hipertensión.
A 50-year-old man with diabetes and a new prescription for hypertension.

Situación 2:
Una mujer con 12 semanas de embarazo – tiene preguntas sobre la dieta y el ejercicio durante el embarazo.
A woman at 12 weeks of pregnancy – has questions about diet and exercise during pregnancy.

You can get more examples and two extra practice situations by downloading our .pdf notes

Keep up the good work speaking responsible Spanish to your patients! Check out our other books, classes & products to help you learn medical Spanish!

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