7.3.5

Using the Subjunctive

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Using the Subjunctive

In French, you need to use the subjunctive after phrases that show desire, doubt, emotions and some conjunctions.

Expressing desire

Expressing desire

  • When a phrase is expressing someone's desire or will, in French you need to use the subjunctive.
  • Here are some common phrases:
    • Aimer mieux que - to prefer that.
    • Demander que - to ask that.
    • Il est important que - it is important that.
    • Il est nécessaire que - it is necessary that.
    • Il est essentiel que - it is essential that.
    • Il faut que - it is necessary that.
    • Vouloir que - to want to.
Expressing emotions and feelings

Expressing emotions and feelings

  • Verbs that express emotions or feelings need the subjunctive.
  • Here are a few examples of set phrases:
    • Avoir peur que - to be scared that.
    • Aimer que - to like that.
    • Adorer que - to love that.
    • Il est bon que - it is good that.
    • Il est triste que - it is sad that.
    • Il est heureux que - it is fortunate that.
Expressing doubt

Expressing doubt

  • Verbs that express doubt and opinion need to use the subjunctive.
    • Douter que - to doubt that.
    • Ne penser pas que - to not think that.
    • Il est impossible que - it is impossible that.
    • Il semble que - it seems that.
    • Il n'est pas clair que - it is not clear that.
    • Il n'est pas évident que - it is not evident that.
Conjunctions

Conjunctions

  • Some phrases in French that use conjunctions need to use the subjunctive.
    • À moins que - unless.
    • Afin que - so that.
    • Bien que - although.
    • Pour que - so that.
    • Encore que - even though.
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1

Home & Abroad

1.1

Town & Rural Life

1.1.1Town1.1.2What, Which, Where?1.1.3What is There in Your Region?1.1.4Places in the Town1.1.5Things To Do
1.2

Holiday, Tourism & Directions

1.2.1Countries1.2.2Holidays1.2.3Going on Holiday1.2.4Tourism1.2.5Food1.2.6Eating Out1.2.7Opinions on Food1.2.8Directions (1/2)1.2.9Directions (2/2)1.2.10Exam-Style Questions - Holidays
1.3

Customs

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1.4

Everyday Life & Traditions

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2

Education & Employment

2.1

School Life & Routine

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2.2

School Trips, Events & Exchanges

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2.3

Future Plans & Work

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3

Personal Life & Relationships

3.1

House & Home

3.1.1Home3.1.2Rooms of the House3.1.3In Your House
3.2

Daily Routine & Helping at Home

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3.3

Family & Friends

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4

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Weather

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5.7

Time

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6

Common Tenses

6.1

Present Tense

6.1.1Regular ER Verbs6.1.2Regular IR Verbs6.1.3Regular RE Verbs6.1.4Reflexive Verbs6.1.5Irregular ER Verbs (1/2)6.1.6Irregular ER Verbs (2/2)6.1.7Irregular IR Verbs (1/2)6.1.8Irregular IR Verbs (2/2)6.1.9Irregular RE Verbs (1/3)6.1.10Irregular RE Verbs (2/3)6.1.11Irregular RE Verbs (3/3)6.1.12Present Participle (1/2)6.1.13Present Participle (2/2)6.1.14Irregular Present Participles6.1.15Avoir & Etre
6.2

Perfect Tense

6.2.1Avoir (1/2)6.2.2Avoir (2/2)6.2.3Irregular Past Participles (1/2)6.2.4Irregular Past Participles (2/2)6.2.5Être ER Verbs6.2.6Être IR & RE Verbs6.2.7Irregular Être6.2.8Perfect Infinitive
6.3

Imperfect tense

6.3.1Regular ER Verbs6.3.2Regular IR Verbs6.3.3Regular RE Verbs6.3.4Irregular ER Verbs6.3.5Irregular IR Verbs6.3.6Irregular RE Verbs6.3.7Être
6.4

Imperfect vs Perfect

6.4.1Which One to Use?
6.5

Future Tense

6.5.1Regular ER Verbs6.5.2Regular IR Verbs6.5.3Regular RE Verbs6.5.4Immediate future6.5.5Irregulars (1/2)6.5.6Irregulars (2/2)
7

Advanced Tenses

7.1

Conditional Tense

7.1.1Regular ER Verbs7.1.2Regular IR Verbs7.1.3Regular IR Verbs7.1.4Irregulars (1/2)7.1.5Irregulars (2/2)
7.2

Pluperfect Tense

7.2.1Avoir (1/2)7.2.2Avoir (2/2)7.2.3Être ER7.2.4Être IR & RE7.2.5Irregular Être
7.3

Present Subjunctive

7.3.1Regular Verbs (1/2)7.3.2Regular Verbs (2/2)7.3.3Irregulars (1/2)7.3.4Irregulars (2/2)7.3.5Using the Subjunctive7.3.6Imperative
8

Extra Grammar

8.1

The Passive Voice

8.1.1Être (1/6)8.1.2Être (2/6)8.1.3Être (3/6)8.1.4Être (4/6)8.1.5Être (5/6)8.1.6Être (6/6)8.1.7Avoiding the Passive
8.2

Pronouns

8.2.1Personal Pronouns (1/2)8.2.2Personal Pronouns (2/2)8.2.3Reflexive Pronouns8.2.4Indefinite Pronouns8.2.5Emphatic Pronouns8.2.6Relative Pronouns8.2.7Ça, Cela, Celui8.2.8Demonstrative Pronouns8.2.9Possessive Pronouns
8.3

Asking Questions

8.3.1Question Words (1/2)8.3.2Question Words (2/2)
8.4

Nouns

8.4.1The, A8.4.2Some8.4.3Masculine8.4.4Feminine (1/2)8.4.5Feminine (2/2)8.4.6Plurals8.4.7Irregular Plurals
8.5

Prepositions

8.5.1Prepositions (1/3)8.5.2Prepositions (2/3)8.5.3Prepositions (3/3)8.5.4Phrases
8.6

Adverbs

8.6.1Forming an Adverb8.6.2Good, Badly, Fast
8.7

Quantifiers & Intensifiers

8.7.1A Lot, Enough, Very
8.8

Adjectives

8.8.1Agreement (1/3)8.8.2Agreement (2/3)8.8.3Agreement (3/3)8.8.4Position (1/2)8.8.5Position (2/2)8.8.6Comparative8.8.7Superlative8.8.8Good, Better, Best8.8.9Demonstrative8.8.10Indefinite
8.9

Negative

8.9.1Negatives (1/2)8.9.2Negatives (2/2)
8.10

Conjunctions

8.10.1To Make Sentences Longer8.10.2To Add Extra Information
8.11

Miscellaneous

8.11.1Abbreviations

Practice questions on Using the Subjunctive

Can you answer these? Test yourself with free interactive practice on Seneca — used by over 10 million students.

  1. 1
    Fill in the blank: 'Il semble que cela ____ le processus':Multiple choice
  2. 2
    Tu veux sortir, mais tes parents ont d'autres projets pour toi. <br><br>Que veulent tes parents que tu fasses ?Multiple choice
  3. 3
    Les élèves parlent anglais en cours de français. Le professeur n'apprécie pas cela.<br><br> Que demande le professeur que vous fassiez ?Multiple choice
  4. 4
    Émilie va voir un film. Elle veut voir le film avec ses amis. <br><br>Que veut Emilie ?Multiple choice
  5. 5
    Tu viens à la fête. Ça me rend heureux.<br><br> Qu’est-ce que je ressens ?Multiple choice
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Irregulars (2/2)

Imperative