The subjunctive mood in French adds depth to your language skills. It's used to express emotions, doubts, and wishes. Knowing how to form it correctly is key to sounding more natural and fluent in French.
Forming the subjunctive involves changing verb stems and adding specific endings. Regular verbs follow a pattern, while irregular verbs have unique forms. Mastering these forms will help you express yourself more precisely in various situations.
Conjugating verbs in the present subjunctive
Regular verb conjugation
- The present subjunctive is formed by taking the third person plural (ils/elles) form of the present indicative, removing the -ent ending, and adding the appropriate subjunctive endings (-e, -es, -e, -ions, -iez, -ent)
- For most verbs, the subjunctive stem is the same as the infinitive stem (parler → parl-, finir → finiss-, attendre → attend-)
- The subjunctive endings are the same for all verbs: -e, -es, -e, -ions, -iez, -ent
- Example: parler (to speak) → que je parle, que tu parles, qu'il/elle parle, que nous parlions, que vous parliez, qu'ils/elles parlent
Irregular verb conjugation
- Common irregular subjunctive forms include être (sois, sois, soit, soyons, soyez, soient), avoir (aie, aies, ait, ayons, ayez, aient), aller (aille, ailles, aille, allions, alliez, aillent), and faire (fasse, fasses, fasse, fassions, fassiez, fassent)
- Some verbs with irregular stems in the present indicative, such as prendre (prenn-) and venir (vienn-), maintain their irregular stem in the present subjunctive
- Irregular subjunctive stems must be memorized, such as être (soi-), avoir (ai-), aller (aill-), faire (fass-), pouvoir (puiss-), savoir (sach-), and vouloir (veuill-)
- Example: aller (to go) → que j'aille, que tu ailles, qu'il/elle aille, que nous allions, que vous alliez, qu'ils/elles aillent
Spelling changes for -ger and -cer verbs
- Verbs ending in -ger and -cer undergo spelling changes in the present subjunctive to maintain the soft "g" and "c" sounds
- For -ger verbs, an "e" is added before the -ions and -iez endings (manger → mange, manges, mange, mangions, mangiez, mangent)
- For -cer verbs, the "c" changes to a "ç" before the -ions and -iez endings (commencer → commence, commences, commence, commencions, commenciez, commencent)
- These spelling changes ensure that the pronunciation of the verb stem remains consistent throughout the conjugation
- Example: manger (to eat) → que je mange, que tu manges, qu'il/elle mange, que nous mangions, que vous mangiez, qu'ils/elles mangent
Identifying the subjunctive stem
Deriving the subjunctive stem
- The subjunctive stem is derived from the third person plural (ils/elles) form of the present indicative, with the -ent ending removed
- This process applies to both regular and irregular verbs, although irregular verbs may have additional stem changes
- Example: parler (ils parlent) → parl-, être (ils sont) → soi-, avoir (ils ont) → ai-
Applying subjunctive endings to the stem
- Once the subjunctive stem is identified, the appropriate subjunctive endings (-e, -es, -e, -ions, -iez, -ent) are added to conjugate the verb
- The subjunctive endings are the same for all verbs, regardless of their infinitive ending (-er, -ir, -re)
- Example: finir (stem: finiss-) → que je finisse, que tu finisses, qu'il/elle finisse, que nous finissions, que vous finissiez, qu'ils/elles finissent
Memorizing irregular subjunctive stems
- Some irregular verbs have unique subjunctive stems that must be memorized
- These stems often differ from the infinitive stem and may not follow the regular pattern of derivation from the third person plural present indicative
- Common irregular subjunctive stems include: être (soi-), avoir (ai-), aller (aill-), faire (fass-), pouvoir (puiss-), savoir (sach-), and vouloir (veuill-)
- Example: pouvoir (to be able to) → que je puisse, que tu puisses, qu'il/elle puisse, que nous puissions, que vous puissiez, qu'ils/elles puissent
Present subjunctive vs other tenses
Stem differences
- The present subjunctive is formed using the third person plural present indicative stem, while other tenses use different stems
- The imperfect subjunctive, for example, uses the second person singular passé simple stem
- Irregular verbs in the present subjunctive may have different stems compared to their irregular forms in other tenses (aller → vont in the present indicative, but aillent in the present subjunctive)
Ending differences
- The present subjunctive endings are unique and differ from the endings used in other tenses, such as the present indicative or the imperfect
- The present subjunctive does not have different endings for -er, -ir, and -re verbs, unlike the present indicative, which has distinct endings for each verb group
- Example: present indicative endings for -er verbs (-e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent) vs present subjunctive endings for all verbs (-e, -es, -e, -ions, -iez, -ent)
Usage and context
- The present subjunctive is used in specific grammatical constructions and contexts, such as expressing doubt, desire, or necessity, which differ from the usage of other tenses
- Other tenses, like the present indicative or the imperfect, are used in different contexts and express different meanings or time frames
- Example: Je pense qu'il est malade. (I think he is sick. - present indicative) vs Je veux qu'il soit en bonne santé. (I want him to be healthy. - present subjunctive)