When it comes to studying the French subjunctive my students often go pale and I can almost see the question marks hovering around their heads !

Let me reassure you, the French subjunctive is not that complex! To make the first steps easier for you, I have written down four key points you need to know when you study this form of the verb.

On purpose I do not mention all the elements involved straight off, just the key ones. The examples listed below are the most common and probably the ones you will most need when interacting with French-speakers.

1. What exactly is the French subjunctive?

The subjunctive is a verb mood which is widely used in French, but it also exists in English.

The subjunctive is used to express uncertainty or various hypothetical states like judgement, wish, possibility, opinion, fear, and emotion. Subjectivity and abstraction are the two key terms.

2. When to use the French subjunctive

a- Necessity/Obligation

We use the subjunctive in French after certain words and conjunctions (words with two parts) to express something necessary or that you must do.

- The most common expression followed by the subjunctive is: il faut que (it is necessary that)

Examples:

Il faut que tu regardes les résulats (verb regarder: to look conjugated with subjunctive)

Il faut qu’elle dise la vérité (verb dire: to say conjugated with subjunctive)

The most common verb is vouloir (to want) in the present tense or the conditional, followed by que

Examples:

- Je veux que tu manges ce gâteau (verb manger: to eat - is conjugated with subjunctive)

- Je voudrais que tu dines avec moi (verb vouloir conjugated in the conditional, followed by the subjunctive of the verb diner)

b- Preference & Wish

Verbs such as préférer (to prefer), aimer (to like), and souhaiter (to wish), are usually conjugated with the conditional in the first part of the sentence followed by que which introduces the subjunctive in the second part of the sentence.

Je préfère que tu viennes (verb venir: to come - is conjugated with subjunctive)

Je préférerais que tu ailles à la réunion (verb aller: to go - is conjugated with subjunctive)

J’aimerais que tu sois heureux (verb être: to be - conjugated with subjunctive)

Je voudrais que tu regardes ce film (verb regarder: to watch / to look conjugated with subjunctive)

c- Fear

J’ai peur qu’il soit malade (verb être: to be - is conjugated with subjunctive)

d- Opinion

Here is a list of words expressing opinion which are followed by a verb conjugated in the subjunctive:

C’est bien, c’est super, c’est intéressant, c’est mieux, c’est incroyable, c’est normal, c’est dommage, c’est stupide, c’est triste, c’est bizarre, fou etc + que:

C’est bien que tu regardes (verb regarder - to watch) ce film

C’est stupide que tu sois (verb être - to be) de mauvaise humeur pour ça

C’est normal que le professeur parte (verb partir: to leave) en vacances

e- Emotion

You use the subjunctive after adjectives which express emotion. They will be followed by que:

Je suis heureuse que tu sois là (verb être: to be)

Il est content que les acteurs viennent au Festival de Cannes (verb venir: to come)

f- Goal

The main common expression to express the goal is: pour que (to or in order to), followed by a verb conjugated in the subjunctive:

Je te donne mon numéro de téléphone pour que tu m’appelles demain (verb appeler: to call someone)

G- To express a Condition

The principal way to express a condition is: à condition que followed by que + subjunctive

Tu peux sortir à condition que tu me dises où tu vas

h- After certain verbs used to express opinion in the negative

Penser, croire are verbs which when used at the negative form are followed by que + subjunctive

Je ne crois pas que tu sois vraiment malade (verb être: to be)

Je ne pense pas qu’elle soit malade (verb être: to be)

3. How to Form the French subjunctive

These are the endings to be added, depending on which pronoun it is being used:

Je: e

Tu: es

Il / elle / on: e

Nous: ions

Vous: iez

Ils / elles: ent

For regular verbs ending with er, please note that the endings are basically the same as the present tense endings, but for nous and vous they are the same as the imperfect tense endings and come with an extra -i-.

Example:

Il faut que je parle

Tu parles

Il parle

Nous parlions

Vous parliez

Elles parlent

To form the French subjunctive, you take the radical (stem) of the 3rd person plural in the present tense and you add the ending of the subjunctive. That’s why we encourage you to master the present tense well. Let’s see an example:

A sentence with partir + French subjunctive

C’est bien que tu partes maintenant (subjunctive)

(verb partir – 3rd person plural present tense is: ils partent so subjunctive will be tu partes)

Il faut que tu prennes le métro (subjunctive)

(verb prendre – 3rd person plural present tense is: ils prennent, so subjunctive will be: tu prennes)

“C’est bien que tu écrives ce mail aujourd’hui” (subjunctive)

(verb écrire – 3rd person plural present tense is: ils écrivent so subjunctive will be: ils écrivent)

Il faut que tu boives un verre d’eau (subjunctive)

(verb écrire – 3rd person plural present tense: elles boivent so subjunctive will be: tu boives)

4. The Irregulars

Unfortunately, in grammar just as in life, there is no way to avoid the exception to the rule. And there's nothing we can do about these instances but to tolerate them while being wary of them at the same time. Here is a list of the most common irregular verbs in the subjunctive.

Verbs

Etre avoir aller Faire savoir

je sois j’aie j’aille je fasse je sache

tu sois tu aies tu ailles tu fasses tu saches

’il/elle/on soit il/elle ait il/elle aille il/elle fasse il/elle sache

nous soyons nous ayons nous allions nous fassions nous sachions

vous soyez vous ayez vous alliez vous fassiez vous sachiez

ils/elles soient ils/elles aient ils/elles aillent fassent ils/elles sachent

Using the French Subjunctive without Fear!