LEÇON

36The present subjunctive

 The present subjunctive is formed in French from the 3rd person plural of the present indicative, removing
its ending and adding the following endings:

1st person singular + and

2nd person singular + is
3rd person singular + and
1st person plural + ions
2nd person plural + ten
3rd person plural + ent

 Let's look at some examples:

3rd p.plural pte.indic. Lisent Chant Sort

Root (-ending) Lis - Chant - Sort -
Je Lise Sing Raffle
You Lises Chants Raffles
He/she Lise Sing Raffle
We Lisions Chantions Sorts
You Lisiez Chantiez Sortiez
They / They Lisent Chant Sort

 There are a series of verbs, widely used, that form the present subjunctive irregularly. These verbs are:

Être (to be) Avoir (to have) Aller (go) Savoir (knowledge)
Je You are Aie Aille Sache
You You are Aies Wings Sachets
He/she Soit Ait Aille Sache
We Soyons Ayons Allions Sachions
You Soyez Ayez Alliez Sachiez
They / They I am Aient Aillent Sachent

Pouvoir (power) I want (to want) Faire (to do) Falloir (if necessary)
Je Puisse Veuille Phase
You Pots Veuilles Phases
He/she Weight Veuille Phase The failure
We Powers Voulions Fashions
You Well then Vouliez Fassiez
They / They Potential Veuillent Fassent

The verb: Present Subjunctive - Le verbe: le Présent du subjonctif

FORMATION OF THE PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE

The formation (conjugation) of the Present Subjunctive of a verb in French is very simple:

Like every verb, we need a root and endings.

Subjunctive endings:

1st person: - e pronounced /Ø/

2nd person: - is pronounced /Ø/
3rd person: - e pronounced /Ø/
 1st person plural: - ions pronounced /iõ/
2nd person plural: - iez pronounced /iÉ/
3rd person plural: -ent pronounced /Ø/

The new thing is that for the subjunctive we will use 2 roots and we will put in front of the
verb QUE:

GENERAL FORMULA: QUE + Suj + VERB (SUBJUNCTIVE)

To obtain the root of the three persons singular and the 3rd person plural of the verb we want to conjugate,
we take the 3rd person plural (present) of it and separate the ending -ent.

To this root we will add the corresponding subjunctive endings.

For the 1st and 2nd person plural we will do the same as to form the imperfect preterite: we will take the
1st person PLURAL of the present, remove –ons and add the subjunctive endings

An example:

Present Subjunctive Formation (regular verb)

Present Subjunctive
Present
Roots Endings QUE + Suj + VERB Translation
Indicative
(SUBJUNCTIVE)
I speak and What I speak Let me speak
You speak to is That you speak That you speak
them
He/She speaks and What is he talking Let him speak
about?
We talk Parlons talk ions Let us speak Let us speak
You speak ten What are you talking That you speak
about?
They speak Talk talk ent Who are they talking Let them talk
about?

And another example with an irregular verb in the present tense, but regular in the subjunctive.

Present Subjunctive Formation (regular verb in subjunctive: venir)

Present Subjunctive
Present
Roots Endings QUE + Suj + VERB Translation
Indicative
(SUBJUNCTIVE)
I come and I'm coming That I come
You come is That you come That you come
He/She and Who comes Let him come
comes
We venom venoms Come- ions We come That we come
You come ten You come That you come
They come come Vienn- ent Who are they coming? Let them come

There are a series of verbs, as always the most used (look where...), that form the present
subjunctive in an irregular way.
(they do not follow these given rules). These verbs are: aller, avoir, être, faire, pouvoir, savoir,
vouloir and valoroir, which vary their stem completely.

Être (to Avoir (to Savoir

Aller (go)
be) have) (knowledge)
Je You are Aie Aille Sache
You You are Aies Wings Sachets
He/She Soit Ait Aille Sache
 We Soyons Ayons Allions Sachions
You Soyez Ayez Alliez Sachiez
They/She I am Aient Aillent Sachent

Pouvoir I want (to Faire (to Fail (if

(power) want) do) necessary)
Je Weight Veuille Phase
You Pots Veuilles Phases
He/She Weight Veuille Phase The failure
We Powers Voulions Fashions
You Well then Vouliez Fassiez
They / She Potential Veuillent Fassent

USES OF THE SUBJUNCTIVE

In general, the subjunctive is used less in French than in Spanish, 30% less, so the main difficulty is
in distinguishing its uses in French, because sometimes they do not coincide with Spanish. A case
to remember from now on: French does not use it in conditional sentences.

The subjunctive in French is used for:

Expressing need:

It is necessary that + subj it is necessary/it is necessary/it is necessary that….

Il faut que tu viennes avec nous ce soir

It is necessary/it is necessary/it is necessary that you come with us tonight

Expressing the will to do something or the desire:

Verbs that express “desire”: Vouloir que + subj.; desire that+ subj; souhaiter que + subj…

Je veux que nous sortions tout de suite

I want us to leave right now

He wants us to join together He wants us to go

Je ne veux pas que tu viennes avec nous

I don't want you to come with us

I want our allions to Paris all of them

I wish we could go to Paris, just the two of us.

I wish you would invite me to the cinema I wish you would invite me to the cinema
Je souhaite que tu viennes ce soir I wish you came tonight

Avoir envie que + subj Feel like…

J'ai envie que vous veniez chez moi I want you to come to my house

Pourvu que + subj. As long as, just as long as…

Pourvu qu'il vienne ce soir! As long as he comes tonight!

Expressing doubt, possibility:

Verbs and expressions that express “doubt”: douter, n'être pas sur… watch out! Some of these verbs are
only used in the subjunctive in their negative, not affirmative, form.

Compare:

Negative: Je ne crois pas qu'il soit malade.

 I don't think he's sick

Affirmative: Je crois qu'il est malade

I think he's sick

Let's look at some expressions:

Je doute que + subj. I doubt that…

Je doute qu'il soit ici I doubt he is here

I'm not sure that + subj. I'm not sure that…

Il n'est pas qu'il puisse come ce soir

Not sure if he can come tonight

Je ne crois pas que + subj I don't think…

Je ne crois pas qu'il soit malade. I don't think I'm sick

I don't think that + subj I don't think that

Je ne pense pas qu'il vienne I don't think it's coming

It is possible that + sub It may be / it may happen that…

Il se peut qu'il n'arrive pas à l'heure. It may not arrive on time

Il est possible que + subj / C'est possible que + subj It is possible that…

C'est possible qu'il ne vienne pas It is possible that he will not come

There are already chances that + sub. There are chances that…

There are already chances that we will go to the party. There are chances that we will go to the
party.

Express tastes, preferences, appreciations, feelings…

Verbs and expressions that express the notion of “liking” or “not liking”: aimer, adorer, préférerdétester…

I love you so much that you are with me I want you to be with me
J'adore qu'elle nous aide I love that she helps us
Je préfére qu'il ne vienne pas I prefer that he not come
I hate that you talk to me like that! I hate that you talk to me like that!

Other expressions:

Je suis heureux/heureuse que+ subj I am happy that…

I am happy that…

I am sad that + subj I am sad that…

Nous sommes tristes que tu ne puisses pas comer avec nous

We are sad that you cannot come with us.

C'est normal que+ subj It is normal that…

It's normal that you are enrhûmé! The pool water is at 14º!
It's normal that you have a cold! The pool water was 14º!

Express fear, dread

They are sometimes used to express doubt rather than “fear.”

I fear that... I'm afraid that...

Je crains qu'elle ne soit pas ici I'm afraid she's not here

J'ai (good) peur que + subj I'm afraid that…

J'ai peur qu'ils se fâchent avec moi I am afraid that they will be angry with me

Express the purpose:

pour que + subj So that…

Je lui explain the lesson so that you understand it

I explain the lesson to you so that you understand it
Please provide the photos so that you can see them
I bring the photos for you to see

Expressing previousness:

Avant que + subj Before…

I see all the toilets before the spectacle begins.

I have to go to the bathroom before the show starts.

Express opposition or concession:

Although + subj although / despite the fact that…

Although he is tired, he works

Il est parti sans que personne le sache He has left without anyone knowing

State the hypothesis:

Supposons qu'il ne vienne pas, nous nous en allons

Assuming he doesn't come, we'll leave.

Express an opinion, advice:

Il vaut mieux que + subj. had better...; It's better than...

Il vaut mieux que tu étudies pour passer ton exam

You better study to pass the exam

Express condition:

On condition that + subj on condition that…

Nous irons à la plage à condition que tu sonis à l'heure

We will go to the beach on the condition that you arrive on time.

The subjonctif

We are now going to present the formation of the subjunctive in order to talk about its use later.
 The differences between French and Spanish regarding the subjunctive are minimal. However,
there are a couple of important differences.

The subjunctive is not used in French in conditional sentences.

Due to the fact that the imperfect subjunctive is not used in French today, there are differences in
the agreement of tenses.

There are verbs, conjunctions and idiomatic expressions that require the subjunctive in Spanish,
but not in French and vice versa.

But these are only isolated cases. The general idea is the same. We will talk about the differences
right away.
The formation of the present de subjonctif

As far as the present subjunctive is concerned, there is no distinction to be made between verbs
ending in -er, -ir, -re and -oir.

The present subjunctive is formed by removing the personal ending from the third person plural
and adding the corresponding ending.

examples
personal donner (to terminatio
finir (to finish) see (to see) descend (go down)
pronoun give) n
They are They are
They give their descendants
ending coming
je donn finiss I'm going descend and
you donn finiss I'm going descend is
he/she donn finiss I'm going descend and
us donn finiss go descend ions
you donn finiss go descend ten
They / They donn finiss I'm going descend ent

It is used after verbs that express hope, fear, sorrow, etc., as we will see in the following chapters.

examples
He doesn't expect us to give him money.
Il n' espère pas que nous lui donnions de l' argent.
He fears that you will come down.
Il a peur que vous descentiez.
I doubt you'll see it.
I trust that you will go.

As usual, there are many verbs that are irregular and, as usual, it is precisely the most frequent
verbs that are irregular. We will name the most important ones here, but in the long term you will
have to buy one of those little books sold in bookstores that contain all the verbs, they cost more
or less the same as a pack of cigarettes. Another possibility is the website www.verbix.com, where
you can find the conjugation of all French verbs.

examples
to be (to to have (to
will (to want) power to do (to do) aller (go)
be) have)
tha
je you are veuille puisse phase aie wing
t
tha
you you are veuilles well phases aies wings
t
wh he/she soit veuille puisse phase ait aille
 at
tha
us soyons volutions positions fassions ayons allions
t
tha
you I am you will then fassez yesterday alliez
t
wh They /
I am veuillent powerful fassent aient aillent
at They

examples
I'm afraid he's there.
I think he is there.
I don't expect him to be able to do it.
Je n' espère pas qu' il soit capable of faire.
I'm afraid he'll do stupid things.
Je crains qu'il fasse des bêtises.
The formation of the imparfait subjonctif

The subjonctif imparfait, quite unlike in Italian and Spanish, is on the verge of disappearing and can
only be found in literary texts and therefore it is not necessary to be able to use it actively,
speaking or writing, however it is useful to recognize it when it appears in a text. Just as in the
formation of the passé simple, verbs ending in -er and -ir have one conjugation model, verbs
ending in -re and -oir have two. The fact that apart from this complicated situation there are
completely irregular verbs is obviously no consolation. But since we are alone, just you and I (don't
tell me you are on the phone while reading this text) I am going to tell you one thing. It seems that
the training proved too difficult for the French themselves and therefore fell into disuse. In the
future, one will have to study history to learn something about the subjonctif imparfait.

the formation of the unfinished subjunctive

verbs in -er / -ir verbs in -hear verbs in -d
parler finir recevoir(to see descend(go to drink
(to speak) (to finish) receive) (to see) down)
type 1 type 2 type 1 type 2
that je to talk finisse Resolve visse descended busse
that you parlasses finisses Recessions visses descends buses
wha
he/she talk ended receive vit descended but
t
that us parlassions endings Reductions visions descents bussions
that you talkative end refuse come back descend bussiez
wha They /
parlassent finished refused vissent descending bussent
t They

Normally the infinitive ending is removed and the corresponding ending is added. However, there
are many irregular verbs whose stem changes as well.

We name some of the most important irregular verbs (which, due to the fact that they are very
frequent, you will probably see one day in a literary text). And again we point to www.verbix.com
where you can see the conjugation of all verbs.

examples
to be (to be) avoir (to have, to have)

that je fusse eusse

that you fuses eusses
what he/she fût eût
that us fusions eussions
 that you fussy eussiez
what They / They fussent eussent

As we have already said, the subjonctif imparfait is not used in spoken language. Its function of
expressing simultaneity in sentences whose introductory verb is in the past tense is performed by
the subjonctif présent.

example
Je craignait qu' il soit trop tard.
I was afraid it was too late.

and no (it would be correct, but it is not used today)

Je craignait qu'il fût trop tard.
I was afraid it was too late.
The agreement of tenses with verbs that require the subjunctive

The problem with the agreement of the tenses arises in three different situations.

1) The events are recounted by someone (if the introductory verb is something like say, tell,
narrate, relate, etc.). In this case, in general grammars we speak of indirect speech.
2) Events are presented in someone's mind (in this case the introductory verb is think, believe
etc.).
3) When the introductory verb describes a subjective attitude towards the world (in this case the
introductory verb is hope, fear, want etc.). This case is different, because this type of verb requires
the subjunctive.

In this last case, the subjunctive must be used, but the correct chronological order must still be
respected. In grammars, a distinction is often made between these three situations, for example
devoting an entire chapter to indirect speech. This distinction is not at all useful; on the contrary, it
obfuscates the problem, because in all three cases it is a matter of respecting the correct
chronological order of events. This chronological order can be described very precisely in the case
where the introductory verb requires the indicative. In the case where the subjunctive is required,
the distinction between simultaneity and posteriority is not so clear. In French, due to the fact that
the subjonctif imparfait fell into disuse, there is also no distinction, in this case 3), between
introductory verbs in the present tense and introductory verbs in the past tense. To see it more
clearly, let's present it all again in a more systematic way.

The introductory verb is in the present tense and requires the indicative....
The events occur at the same time as they are being told:
I tell you what I do.
I'll tell you what I do.
The events occurred before being told and are not finished:
Je te raconte, ce que je faisais. I'll tell
you what I did.
The events occurred before being told and are finished:
Je te raconte, ce que j' ai fait. I'll tell
you what I had done.
Events occur after being told:
I'll tell
you what I'll do.

The introductory verb is in the past tense and requires the indicative....
The events occurred at the same time as they were being told:
Je te racontais, ce que je faisais. I told
you what I did.
The events occurred before being told:
 Je te racontais, ce que j'avais fait. I told
you what I had done.
The events occurred after being told:
Je te racontais, ce que je ferais. I told
you what I would do.

Now, what is it about? It is not really the same if I tell someone what I am doing at the moment of
telling them or if I tell them what I did or if I tell them what I will do. Chronological order must be
respected (Just in case this seems trivial to you. It is not trivial at all, because there are even
languages, such as German, which are not able to describe chronological order in such a situation.)
The examples above work with the indicative, and Spanish as well as French are able to describe
anteriority, simultaneity and posteriority if the introductory verb requires the indicative. In the
case that the verb requires the subjunctive, the situation changes. In this case, only literary and
sophisticated French resembles Spanish, because imparfait subjonctif only exists in literary French.
The table below shows the situation in literary French.

The events are feared in the present and the events occur / occurred ....
at the same time:
I think he is sick.
I'm afraid he's sick.
previously:
Je crains qu'il ait été malade. I
fear he has been ill.

The events were feared in the past and the events occur / occurred ....
at the same time:
Je craignais qu'il fût malade.
I was afraid he was sick...
previously:
Je craignais qu' il eût été malade.
I was afraid he had been sick.
As we can see, a problem arises if the introductory verb is in the past tense, because then the
imparfait de subjonctif is required, which is not used today. In this case, the subjonctif imparfait is
replaced by the subjonctif présent, the subjonctif plus-que-parfait by the subjonctif passé
composé, that is, in spoken language it does not matter whether the introductory verb is in the
past tense or the present tense. The table below shows the situation we have in the spoken
language.

The events were feared in the past and the events occur / occurred ....
at the same time:
Je craignais qu'il soit malade.
I was afraid he was sick.
previously:
Je craignais qu'il ait été malade.
I was afraid he had been sick.
The formation of the passé composé du subjonctif

The formation of the passé composé du subjonctif is very simple. If it is a transitive verb, it is
conjugated with the present subjunctive of the verb avoir as an auxiliary verb, which we already
know, and the perfect participle, which we already know as well. If it is an intransitive verb, it is
conjugated, as in the indicative, with être, but obviously with the subjunctive du present.

transitive verbs
conjuncti personal pronoun / auxiliary
introductory verb perfect participle complement
on verb
Je crains Tu j' aie tu la maisonla
 crainsIl
aies il
/ Elle craint
..... vuachetévenduc
ait elle ait
ommisparlégagn voituretropun
nous ayons vous
Je veux Tu veux what' é e
ayez ils
Il faute
aient elles aient
/ Elle veut Nous
voulons

examples
The fear that I have seen him.
He fears that she has seen him.
Nous n' espérons pas que vous ayez acheté la maison.
We don't expect you to have bought the house.
Il craint qu'il ait commis une faute.
He fears he has made a mistake.

It is important to note that in the case where it is conjugated with être, the perfect participle must
agree in gender and number with the subject of the sentence.

intransitive verbs
introductory verb conjunction personal pronoun / auxiliary verb perfect participle
Je regretteTu
regrettesIl je sois tu
/ Elle regrette sois il
.... soit elle
venu(e)(s)
soit nous
parti(e)(s)
J' ai peur You soyons vous
what' sorti(e)(s)
as peurIl soyez ils
a peur Elle soient elles
a peur soient
......

examples
I regrette that you are venu(e).
I'm sorry you came.
Nous regrettons qu'ils soient partis.
We are sorry to see you go.
Nous regrettons qu'elles soient parties.
We are sorry you went.
Ils ont peur qu' elle soit sortie.
They feared that he had gone out.
The formation of the plus-que-parfait du subject

As we have already said, the plus-que-parfait de subjonctif is found only in classical French
literature.
Along with the imparfait de subjonctif, the plus-que-parfait de subjonctif also fell into disuse,
because in order to form the plus-que-parfait de subjonctif, the imparfait de subjonctif is needed.
The plus-que-parfait de subjonctif is constructed with the imparfait de subjonctif of the verb avoir
(transitive verb) or the verb être (transitive verb) and the perfect participle. The plus-que-parfait
de subjonctif described, in classical French, that one event had occurred before another event in
the past. In the context of the concordance of tenses it can therefore only appear if the
introductory verb is in a past tense.

transitive verbs
introductory verb conjuncti personal pronoun auxiliary verb perfect participle complement
 on
Je craignaisTu
craignaisIl je eusse tu eusses
/ Elle craignait il
la maisonla
.....
eût elle vuachetévenduco
voituretropun
Je voulaisTu eût nous eussions vous mmisparlégagné
what' e
voulaisElle eussiez ils
faute
voulaitNous eussent elles eussent
voulions
.....

examples
Il craignait que je l'eusse vu.
He was afraid that she had seen him.
Nous n' espérions pas que vous siez acheté la maison.
We didn't expect you to have bought the house.
Il craignait qu' il eût commis une faute.
He feared that he had made a mistake.

intransitive verbs
introductory verb conjunction personal pronoun auxiliary verb perfect participle
Je regrettaisTu
regrettaisIl je fusse tu
/ Elle regrettait fusses il
....
venu(e)(s)
fût elle fût
parti(e)(s)
J' ai peur You nous fussions vous
what' sorti(e)(s)
as peurIl fussiez ils
a peur Elle fussent elles fussent
a peur
......

examples
Je regrettais que tu fusses venu(e).
I was sorry you came.
Nous regrettions qu'ils fussent partis.
We regretted that they had come.
Nous regrettions qu'elles fussent parties.
We regret that they came.
Ils avaient peur qu' elle fût sortie.
They feared that he had gone out.
The use of the subjunctive

The subjunctive is used after verbs, conjunctions and idiomatic expressions that express hope,
fear, desire, admiration, doubt or contempt. Apart from this, it is used when the main sentence
implies that what is described in the subordinate sentence is unreal. This general rule can be
specified, but the differences between Spanish and French are minimal. There are differences in
some details, but the general idea is the same.

examples
I'm afraid he'll come.
I'm afraid he'll come.
no: I'm afraid he'll wind up.
Je n' espère pas qu' il le fasse. I hope he does.
 no: Je n' espère pas qu' il le fait.
Je crains qu' il soit déjà venu.
I hope it has arrived already.
no: Je crains qu'il est déjà venu.

Uses of the subjunctive

 In French, the subjunctive tense has several uses.

 In expressions of will:
I want us to help you I want us to go out

I wish that we are allies I wish we go

I sent you to come I'm looking forward to you coming

 In expressions of doubt:
I doubt that he is here I doubt he's here

I didn't think he was coming I don't think he's coming

 In expressions of tastes and preferences:

J'aime bien que tu son avec moi I want you to be with me

I love that she helps us I love that she helps us

I prefer what I don't see here I prefer that he doesn't come.

 In expressions of desire:
I wish you would invite me I want you to invite me

 In expressions of fear:
Je crains qu'il ne soit pas ici I'm afraid he's not here.

I'm afraid they'll catch on I'm afraid they'll get angry

 In expressions of purpose:
Je lui explain the lesson so that you I explain the lesson to you so that you
understand it understand it

Please provide the photos so that you can I bring the photos so you can see them
see them

 In expressions of opposition:
Well qu'il soit fatigued, il travaille Although he is tired, he works

Il est parti sans que personne le sache He has left without anyone knowing.

 In hypothesis expressions:
Supposons qu'il ne vienne pas, Assuming he doesn't come, we'll leave.
 nous nous en allons

 In expressions of possibility:
C'est possible qu'il ne vienne pas He may not come

Il ya des chances que nous alliances à la There are chances that we will go to the
fête party.