French Subjunctive ~ Le Subjonctif

Using the Subjunctive

Many students of French find that the subjunctive is very difficult to master, but hopefully this lesson will simplify matters for you. In Part I, we learned how to conjugate the present subjunctive of regular verbs. In Part II, we learned how to form the present subjunctive of irregular verbs. And finally in Part III, we will learn to use the subjunctive.

The subjunctive mood is used to express actions which are subjective: will/wanting, emotion, doubt, possibility, necessity, judgment. It is nearly always found in dependent clauses introduced by que or qui. The subjects of the dependent and main clauses are usually different. Remember that "that" is not always required in English.

Je veux que tu le fasses.	I want you to do it.
Il faut que nous partions.	It is necessary that we leave.

The subjunctive is used when the main clause expresses subjectivity, as with the following cases:

I.	Verbs/expressions of will which express an order, a need, a piece of advice, or a want.
	aimer mieux que	to like better / to prefer that
	commander que	to order that
	demander que	to ask (someone to do something)
	désirer que	to desire that
	donner l'ordre que	to order that
	empêcher que*	to prevent (someone from doing something)
	éviter que*	to avoid
	exiger que	to demand that
	il est à souhaiter que	it is to be hoped that
	il est essentiel que	it is essential that
	il est important que	it is important that
	il est naturel que	it is natural that
	il est nécessaire que	it is necessary that
	il est normal que	it is normal that
	il est temps que	it is time that
	il est urgent que	it is urgent that
	il faut que	it is necessary that
	il vaut mieux que	it is better that
	interdire que	to forbid that
	s'opposer que	to oppose that
	ordonner que	to order that
	permettre que	to permit that
	préférer que	to prefer that
	proposer que	to propose that
	recommander que	to recommend
	souhaiter que	to wish that
	suggérer que	to suggest that
	tenir à ce que	to insist that
	vouloir que	to want that
	*these verbs are followed by the ne explétif: Évitez qu'il ne parte - Prevent him from leaving.
II.	Verbs/expressions of emotion or feeling which indicate fear, happiness, anger, regret, surprise, or other sentiments.
	adorer que	to love that
	aimer que	to like that
	apprécier que	to appreciate that
	avoir honte que	to be ashamed that
	avoir peur que	to be afraid that
	craindre que	to fear that
	déplorer que	to deplore that
	détester que	to hate that
	être content que	to be happy that
	être désolé que	to be sorry that
	être étonné que	to be amazed that
	être heureux que	to be happy that
	être surpris que	to be surprised that
	être triste que	to be sad that
	il est bizarre que	it is odd that
	il est bon que	it is good that
	il est dommage que	it is too bad that
	il est étonnant que	it is amazing that
	il est étrange que	it is strange that
	il est heureux que	it is fortunate that
	il est honteux que	it is shameful that
	il est inutile que	it is useless that
	il est rare que	it is rare that
	il est regrettable que	it is regrettable that
	il est surprenant que	it is surprising that
	il est utile que	it is useful that
	redouter que	to dread that
	regretter que	to regret that
	se réjouir que	to be delighted that
III.	Verbs/expressions of doubt, possibility, supposition, and opinion
	accepter que	to accept
	s'attendre à ce que	to expect
	chercher ... qui	to look for
	Je cherche un homme qui sache la vérité (he may not exist = doubt)
	détester que	to hate
	douter que**	to doubt that
	il est convenable que	it is proper/fitting that
	il est douteux que**	it is doubtful that
	il est faux que	it is false that
	il est impossible que	it is impossible that
	il est improbable que	it is improbable that
	il est juste que	it is right/fair that
	il est possible que	it is possible that
	il est peu probable que	it is improbable that
	il n'est pas certain que	it is not certain that
	il n'est pas clair que	it is not clear that
	il n'est pas évident que	it is not obvious that
	il n'est pas exact que	it is not correct that
	il n'est pas probable que	it is improbable that
	il n'est pas sûr que	it is not certain that
	il n'est pas vrai que	it is not true that
	il semble que	it seems that
	il se peut que	it may be that
	le fait que	the fact that
	nier que	to deny that
	refuser que	to refuse
	supposer que	to suppose, hypothesize
	**These do not take the subjunctive when they are used negatively: Je doute qu'il vienne, Je ne doute pas qu'il vient.
Note	The following verbs and expressions do not take the subjunctive when they are used in the affirmative, because they express facts which are considered certain. When negative or interrogatory, they require the subjunctive: Penses-tu qu'il soit sympa ? Oui, je pense qu'il est sympa, Non, je ne pense pas qu'il soit sympa.
	c'est que	it's that/because
	connaître (quelqu'un) qui	to know (someone) that
	croire que	to believe that
	dire que	to say that
	espérer que	to hope that
	être certain que	to be certain that
	être sûr que	to be sure that
	il est certain que	it is certain that
	il est clair que	it is clear/obvious that
	il est évident que	it is obvious that
	il est probable que	it is probable that
	il est exact que	it is correct/true that
	il est sûr que	it is certain that
	il est vrai que	it is true that
	il me (te, lui...) semble que	it seems to me (you, him...) that
	il paraît que	it appears that
	penser que	to think that
	savoir que	to know that
	trouver que	to find/think that
	vouloir dire que	to mean that
IV.	The following conjunctions
	à condition que	provided that
	à moins que*	unless
	afin que	so that
	avant que*	before
	bien que	although
	de crainte que*	for fear that
	de façon que	so that, in order that, in such a way that
	de peur que*	for fear that
	en attendant que	while, until
	jusqu'à ce que	until
	pour que	so that
	pourvu que	provided that
	quoique	even though
	quoi que	whatever, no matter what
	sans que	without
	*these conjunctions are followed by the ne explétif: Mangeons avant que nous ne partions - Let's eat before we leave
Note	The following conjunctions do not take the subjunctive, because they express facts which are considered certain:
	ainsi que	just as, so as
	alors que	while, whereas
	après que***	after, when
	aussitôt que***	as soon as
	car	since, because
	en même temps que	at the same time that
	depuis que	since
	dès que***	as soon as, immediately
	lorsque***	when
	parce que	because
	pendant que	while
	plutôt que	instead of, rather than
	puisque	since, as
	quand***	when
	tandis que	while, whereas
	une fois que***	once
	***These conjunctions are followed by the future tense.
V.	In a subordinate clause with the negative pronoun ne ... personne or ne ... rien, or the indefinite pronoun quelqu'un or quelque chose.
	Je ne connais personne qui veuille le faire.	I don't know anyone who wants to do it.
	Y a-t-il quelqu'un qui puisse m'aider ?	Is there someone who can help me?
VI.	After main clauses which contain the words seul, unique, premier, dernier, or any superlative, the subjunctive is optional - it depends on how concrete the speaker feels about what is being said.
	C'est la seule personne que je connaisse.	That's the only person I know.
	C'est l'étudiante la plus intelligente que j'aie.	She's the smartest student I have.

NOTE: There is no future subjunctive. Even if the action is to happen in the future, the present subjunctive is used. However, there is a past subjunctive.

The subjunctive can seem overwhelming, but the thing to remember is the subjunctive = subjective. That should help you figure it out at least 90% of the time.

Test your skills     The Subjunctivator!

Conjugation:     Regular forms     Irregular forms

Avoiding the subjunctive Special uses of the subjunctive     Subjonctif passé

Grammar Glossary     Verb Timeline     Mood French Verb Lessons

  

  

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