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French Subjunctive - Subjonctif

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French subjunctive: Affirmative vs negative statements
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 - at least in the speaker's mind. When negative or interrogatory, they require the subjunctive:

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


Penses-tu qu'il soit sympa ? Oui, je pense qu'il est sympa, Non, je ne pense pas qu'il soit sympa.
Do you think he's nice? Yes, I think he's nice. No, I don't think he's nice.


Does ___ need the subjunctive? Find out with the Subjunctivator! | Subjunctive quiz

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