Subjunctive Mood
If a sentence expresses a subjective statement of opinion, the subjunctive
mood is used. The subjunctive is used in dependent clauses introduced
by the word que. The main clause must express personal opinions
or feelings and have a different subject from the dependent clause. If
the two subjects are the same, the infinitive is used.
Je doute que la situation soit juste. I doubt
that the situation is just. (shows judgment and opinion)
Tout le monde veut venir. NOT: Tout
le monde veut que tout le monde vienne. (use infinitive, same
subject)
To form the subjunctive, use the ils/elles form of the present indicative
tense. This is also the form for the ils/elles form of the subjunctive.
For je, tu, il/elle, drop the -ent and add -e, -es, and -e. Nous
and vous use the imperfect forms.
| -e | -ions |
| -es | -iez |
| -e | -ent |
Irregular Forms
| avoir | être | faire | aller | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| aie (ay) | ayons | sois (swaw) | soyons | fasse | fassions | aille (eye) | allions | |||
| aies | ayez | sois | soyez | fasses | fassiez | ailles | alliez | |||
| ait | aient | soit | soient | fasse | fassent | aille | aillent | |||
| vouloir | pouvoir | savoir | pleuvoir | |||||||
| veuille (vuhee) | voulions | puisse (pweess) | puissions | sache | sachions | |||||
| veuilles | vouliez | puisses | puissiez | saches | sachiez | |||||
| veuille | veuillent | puisse | puissent | sache | sachent | pleuve | ||||
Here is a list of common expressions that are followed by the subjunctive:
| Verbal Expressions | Conjunctions | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| douter | avant que | ||
| suggérer | pour / afin que | ||
| vouloir | jusqu'à ce que | ||
| proposer | à moins que | ||
| avoir peur | bien que / quoique | ||
| regretter | |||
| craindre | |||
| être content/triste/désolé(e)/surpris(e), etc. | |||
| penser/croire/trouver (negative and interrogative forms only) | |||
| il faut que | |||
| il vaut mieux que | |||
| il est important que | |||
| il se peut que | |||
| il est possible que | |||
| il est temps que | |||
| c'est dommage que |
However, douter, jusqu'à ce que, à moins que, and bien
que / quoique use the subjunctive whether there is a change in subject
or not. And when using avant before an infinitive, the construction
is avant de + infinitive. Note, also, that the subjunctive is
not used with espérer or il est probable, although
the subjunctive may be used with these words in other Romance languages.
For some reason, this is not the case in French.
This article was used with permission from:
Indo-European Languages
