Purpose
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to form the present subjonctif for regular verbs and understand what makes it a genuinely different mood.
Lesson Explanation
Everything covered so far — present, passé composé, imparfait, futur, conditionnel — belongs to the indicative mood, used for stating facts. The subjonctif is genuinely different: it expresses subjectivity — wishes, doubts, emotions, necessity — a category with only a faint trace in English (“It is important that she be on time”).
The present subjonctif is formed from the ils form of the present indicative (minus -ent), with a shared set of endings: -e, -es, -e, -ions, -iez, -ent. From parler (ils parl-ent): que je parle, que tu parles, qu’il parle, que nous parlions, que vous parliez, qu’ils parlent.
A genuinely useful, distinctive detail: the nous and vous forms of the subjonctif are often identical to the imparfait, while the other four forms resemble the present indicative — meaning the subjonctif is frequently distinguishable mainly through the triggering word que rather than the verb form itself.
The subjonctif is genuinely not used in isolation — it almost always appears in a subordinate clause introduced by que, following a main clause that expresses wish, doubt, emotion, or necessity. This essential trigger structure is explored fully in the next lesson: Il faut que tu partes. (You need to leave — literally “it is necessary that you leave.”)
A genuinely small number of verbs are irregular in the subjonctif and must be memorized: être → que je sois, avoir → que j’aie, faire → que je fasse, aller → que j’aille.
Practice Questions
1. What mood do present, passé composé, imparfait, futur, and conditionnel all belong to?
View Answer
The indicative mood.
2. What does the subjonctif express?
View Answer
Subjectivity — wishes, doubts, emotions, and necessity.
3. From what present-tense form is the subjonctif stem derived?
View Answer
The “ils” form, minus “-ent.”
4. What are the subjonctif endings?
View Answer
-e, -es, -e, -ions, -iez, -ent.
5. Conjugate “parler” in the subjonctif for “je.”
View Answer
Que je parle.
6. Which two subjonctif forms are often identical to the imparfait?
View Answer
Nous and vous.
7. What word typically introduces the clause where the subjonctif appears?
View Answer
Que.
8. Write “You need to leave,” using the subjonctif.
View Answer
Il faut que tu partes.
9. Write the irregular subjonctif form of “être” for “je.”
View Answer
Que je sois.
10. Write the irregular subjonctif form of “avoir” for “je.”
View Answer
Que j’aie.
11. Write the irregular subjonctif form of “aller” for “je.”
View Answer
Que j’aille.
12. Is the subjonctif normally used on its own, or in a subordinate clause?
View Answer
In a subordinate clause, introduced by “que.”