Present Subjunctive - Two-Stem Irregulars
French: AQA GCSE (2025 Exams), topic 5.3.4
Two Stem Verbs in the Present Subjunctive
'Two stem' verbs have one stem in the 'je', 'tu', 'il' and 'ils' forms, and a different stem in the 'nous' and 'vous' forms.
Forming the present subjunctive
- In the 'je', 'tu', 'il' and 'ils' forms, the stem of 'two stem' verbs comes from the irregular 'ils' form of their present tense.
- In the 'nous' and 'vous' forms, the stem of 'two stem' verbs comes from the 'nous' form of their present tense.
- Any verb that has a different 'nous' and 'ils' stem in the present tense will follow this pattern.
E.g. Prendre - to take
- Ils prennent → prenn
- Je prenne
- Tu prennes
- Il/elle/on prenne
- Ils/elles prennent
- Nous prenons → pren
- Nous prenions
- Vous preniez
E.g. Envoyer - to send
- Ils envoient → envoi
- J'envoie
- Tu envoies
- Il/ell/on envoie
- Ils/elles envoient
- Nous envoyons → envoy
- Nous envoyions
- Vous envoyiez
E.g. Venir - to come
- Ils viennent → vienn
- Je vienne
- Tu viennes
- Il/ell/on vienne
- Ils/elles viennent
- Nous venons → ven
- Nous venions
- Vous veniez
Test yourself on Present Subjunctive - Two-Stem Irregulars
How do you say 'you come' in French?