Bonjour à toutes et à tous ! In today’s lesson, I want us to take a closer look into the French subjunctive mood, what we call le subjonctif in French.
Understanding the French subjunctive – Écouter
I know that the French subjunctive can seem very scary, but let’s take things slowly. In order to understand, we need to know what IS the subjunctive.
What is the French subjunctive?
In French conjugation, moods are the way (or the “setting”) in which a verb expresses an action or a state. They are the “category” of the conjugation tense. First you find the moods, then within those moods, the tenses.
The indicative (l’indicatif)
The conditional (le conditionnel)
The imperative (l’impératif)
The infinitive (l’infinitif)
The subjunctive (le subjonctif)
The subjunctive in French has 4 tenses:
Temps | Exemple |
Présent | que je sois, que tu sois, qu’il soit… |
Passé | que j’aie été, que tu aies été, qu’il ait été… |
Imparfait | que je fusse, que tu fusses, qu’il fût… |
Plus-que-parfait | que j’eusse été, que tu eusses été, qu’il eût été… |
The most common one of these tenses is the subjonctif présent.
Why do we use the subjunctive in French?
The subjunctive expresses a desired fact, a doubt or an action that is not certain, or even an obligation. The most important thing to remember is that those facts and actions are not yet carried out at the time of expression (the time you are talking about it).
Il faut que j’aille faire les courses – I have to go grocery shopping
J’aimerais qu’il soit plus sympathique – I would like him to be more sympathetic
J’irai à la fête, à condition que tu viennes avec moi – I will go to the party, as long as you come with me
So there is already something that you probably might have noticed by now: the presence of “que” in the conjugation of the French subjunctive. But hold on! This will not mean that every phrase using que + subject + verb will require the subjunctive.
The subjunctive presents the fact expressed by the verb as possible, supposed or desired, unlike the indicative, which presents it as real.
This means that he subjunctive is used with verbs expressing wish, desire, emotion, obligation, doubt or uncertainty.
Using the different tenses of French subjunctive
Subjonctif passé expresses a past action, punctual and accomplished.
It expresses an uncertain action, supposed to have been carried out at the time we speak.
– Je ne pense pas qu’il ait eu une bonne note. –> I don’t think he got a good grade.
Subjonctif imparfait expresses a past, unaccomplished action that lasts in time (which is why we are calling it imparfait!).
The imperfect subjunctive is a simple tense that expresses an uncertain action, not realized at the time the speaker was speaking.
– Je ne pensais pas qu’il fût marié. –> I didn’t think he was married.
Take a look at the principal clause “je ne pensais pas”. The tense is in the past (imparfait).
The subjonctif plus-que-parfait expresses the precedence of a past action over another
past action (the past within the past). It expresses an uncertain action, assumed to have taken place at the time the speaker was speaking.
– Je doutais qu’il eût terminé l’examen dans les temps. –> I doubted he would have completed the exam in time.
Take a look at the principal clause “je doutais”. The tense is also in the past (imparfait).
Keep in mind that the two last tenses are rarely used nowadays, unless applied in a very formal context or in literature. The reason why these tenses exist is for what we call “la concordance des temps” (sequence of tenses). In French, your speech has to stay logical. If you started a sentence with the past in the principal clause, then the subordinate clause should also have a tense that goes along with that concept of “past”. But that’s for another lesson!
Forming the French subjunctive present
Je | Stem + e |
Tu | Stem + es |
Il/elle/on | Stem + e |
Nous | Stem + ions |
Vous | Stem + iez |
Ils/elles | Stem + ent |
Examples:
CHANTER: Que je chante, que tu chantes, qu’il chante, que nous chantions, que vous chantiez, qu’ils chantent.
IRREGULAR VERBS ARE ALSO A THING !
Some to remember:
Être : Que je sois, que tu sois, qu’il soit, que nous soyons, que vous soyez, qu’ils soient
Avoir : Que j’aie, que tu aies, qu’il ait, que nous ayons, que vous ayez, qu’ils aient.
Aller : Que j’aille, que tu ailles, qu’il aille, que nous allions, que vous alliez, qu’ils aillent.
Vouloir : Que je veuille, que tu veuilles, qu’il veuille, que nous voulions, que vous vouliez, qu’ils veuillent.
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