Forming The French Subjunctive Mood

In this post we’ll focus on forming the French subjunctive. (We’ll cover how to use the subjunctive in this post.) First, we’ll give a quick overview of what the subjunctive is. Next, we’ll look at how to form the subjunctive of regular verbs. After that, we’ll turn to forming the French subjunctive of verbs with stem changes. Finally, we’ll look at the few important verbs that are completely irregular in the subjunctive.  

Overview of the French Subjunctive vs. the Indicative

First, let’s define what the subjunctive is. You’re no doubt familiar with verb tenses; they tell you when something happens, past, present, or future. You may also be familiar with the idea of verbal aspect; this tells you more about how something happens. Is it completed, is it repeated or habitual, is it ongoing? (Aspect is the difference between the passé composé and the imparfait.) The last verby thing that will help you understand the subjunctive is what’s called a mood. A mood is related to how the speaker feels about what they are saying. Is it true or hypothetical? How sure am I about it? Is it a subjective belief or an objective fact? Is it reality or a command or wish?

The French subjunctive is a mood. It’s not a tense or an aspect, so it’s all about how the speaker feels about what is being said. If there’s an element of doubt or uncertainty, or if there’s a wish, necessity, or a demand that’s being expressed, or if it’s a subjective appraisal of something, French uses the subjunctive. (The “regular” mood is called the indicative, because it indicates reality as a speaker thinks it to be.) Compare these two:

• Je sais qu’il vient.
  I know that he is coming.
  Indicative → Expresses certainty.
• Je doute qu’il vienne.
  I doubt that he is coming.
  Subjunctive → Expresses doubt.

Subordinate Clause with que

The subjunctive usually appears in dependent (subordinate) clauses introduced by que. There’s something in the main clause that triggers the use of the subjunctive in the dependent clause. English actually has a limited subjunctive, with exactly this kind of trigger:

• It’s important that you be on time.
  trigger: it’s important that…
• The boss demands that everyone finish their projects.
  trigger: to demand that…

In both examples, the that-clause is expressing something that isn’t necessarily true. It’s a wish or a demand or something the speaker feels is important, but none of that necessarily means that it’s really happening. These English examples are exactly like the French subjunctive. The only difference is that the subjunctive is used a lot more in French than in English.

Forming The French Subjunctive

Now let’s look at how to form the subjunctive. There is only one set of endings, and most verbs are regular in the subjunctive, so the subjunctive is actually easier to form than the indicative. There’s only a slight wrinkle with stem changing verbs (verbs with different stems in the nous/vous forms), so we’ll deal with them separately.

Forming the Subjunctive of Regular Verbs

To form the subjunctive of most verbs, start with the ils/elles form of the present indicative, and take off the –ent ending. That gives you the subjunctive stem:

Then you add the subjunctive endings to that stem:

Forming the Subjunctive of Stem Changing Verbs

Remember that a lot of French verbs have different stem vowels or other spelling changes in the nous and vous forms. For example:

• Stem vowel change
  je dois, nous devons; je vient, nous venons
• doubled consonants
  je jette, nous jetons; j’appelle, nous appelons
• accent change
  j’achète, nous achetons; je préfère, nous préférons
• y to i
  j’emploie, nous employons; je paie, nous payons

For these verbs, you need to use two different stems in the subjunctive. The first stem is based on the ils/elles form minus –ent, like regular verbs. The second subjunctive stem is based on the nous form minus –ons:

Use stem 1 for all forms but nous and vous in the subjunctive. Use the second stem for nous and vous.

You may remember that verbs ending in –cer and –ger also undergo spelling changes for pronunciation: je mange, nous mangeons; je commence, nous commençons. These spelling changes aren’t necessary in the subjunctive, because all of the endings start with –e or –i. So the subjunctive forms are: que nous mangions and que nous commencions.

Practice 1

Give the subjunctive conjugation for each of the following verbs.

1. travailler
2. rendre
3. choisir
4. dormir
5. boire
6. voir

Irregular Verbs in the French Subjunctive

Several very common French verbs have entirely irregular forms in the subjunctive. Most use the regular subjunctive endings, but the two most important verbs (être and avoir) go a bit off script.

Below are the irregular subjunctive conjugations of être (to be), avoir (to have), aller (to go), faire (to do), pouvoir (can, to be able), savoir (to know), vouloir (to want), and valoir (to be worth).

Practice 2

Complete the missing forms of each of the following irregular subjunctive conjugations.

1. je sois, tu _____, il/elle/on soit, nous _____, vous soyez, ils/elles soient
2. je ____, tu fasses il/elle/on fasse, nous fassions, vous _____, ils/elles _____
3. j’aie, tu _____, il/elle/on _____, nous ayons, vous _____, ils/elles aient
4. je puisse, tu _____, il/elle/on _____, nous puissions, vous _____, ils/elles _____
5. je _____, tu _____, il/elle/on veuille, nous _____, vous vouliez, ils/elles veuillent
6. j’_____, tu _____, il/elle/on aille, nous _____, vous alliez, ils/elles _____

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Answer Key

Practice 1

1. travailler: travaille, travailles, travaille, travaillions, travailliez, travaillent
2. rendre: rende, rendes, rende, rendions, rendiez, rendent
3. choisir: choisisse, choisisses, choisisse, choisissions, choisissiez, choisissent
4. dormir: dorme, dormes, dorme, dormions, dormiez, dorment
5. boire: boive, boives, boive, buvions, buviez, boivent
6. voir: voie, voies, voie, voyions, voyiez, voient

Practice 2

1. tu sois, nous soyons
2. je fasse, vous fassiez, ils/elles fassent
3. tu aies, il/elle/on ait, vous ayez,
4. tu puisses, il/elle/on puisse, vous puissiez, ils/elles puissent
5. je veuille, tu veuilles, nous voulions
6. j’aille, tu ailles, nous allions, ils/elles aillent

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