Le subjonctif: the Subjunctive in French

What is the subjonctif?

The subjonctif (the subjunctive) is one of the French grammatical moods along with the indicative, passive, conditional and imperative moods.

The subjunctive emphasises the subjectivity of a sentence, and it is mostly used in dependent clauses that start with que. The subjunctive expresses possibilities, hypotheses, feelings, thoughts, wishes, doubts, uncertainty or advice.

Master the use of the subjunctive mood in French grammar with Lingolia’s quick and easy examples, then put your knowledge to the test in the free exercises below.

Contents

Zeichnung

Juliette est présentatrice à la télévision. Elle fait en sorte que chaque émission soit un succès, bien qu’elle sache que des imprévus peuvent survenir à tout moment.

Il est important qu'elle reste concentrée et professionnelle, même si elle a parfois très envie de rire. Elle craint que l'audience ne soit déçue si tout ne se passe pas comme prévu.

When to use the subjunctive in French

The subjunctive in French always appears after the word que, and there are many conjunctions, verbs and phrases that trigger its use.

Use the French subjunctive in the following cases:

  • after il faut quemust/have to – this is one of the most common subjunctive triggers
Example:
Il faut qu’elle reste concentrée et professionnelle. She must remain focused and professional.
  • after the following conjunctions with que: avant quebefore, jusqu’à ce queuntil, pour quein order to, afin quein order to, bien quealthough, quoiquealthough, à condition queon the condition that, pourvu quelet’s hope that, sans quewithout
Example:
Elle fait en sorte que chaque émission soit un succès, bien qu’elle sache que des imprévus peuvent survenir à tout moment. She makes sure that every show is a success, although she knows that the unexpected can occur at any moment.

Exception

The conjunction après que (= after) is followed by the indicative, not the subjunctive.

Example:
Les journalistes sont partis après que la manifestation s’est terminée. The journalists left after the demonstration ended.
  • after verbs that express a doubt, fear, wish, permission, request, order etc.: souhaiterto wish, désirerto wish, aimerto like, avoir peurto fear, avoir honteto be ashamed, craindreto fear, redouterto dread, regretterto regret, être désoléto be sorry, vouloirto want, ordonnerto order, exigerto demand, supplierto beg, demanderto ask, interdireto forbid, permettreto allow, déplorerto regret, se plaindreto complain
Example:
Elle craint que l’audience ne soit déçue si tout ne se passe comme prévu. She fears that the audience will be disappointed if everything does not go according to plan.
craindre que + subjunctive

Exceptions

Although they express a wish and a feeling, espérer (= to hope) and décider (= to decide) are followed by the indicative, not the subjunctive.

Example:
Juliette espère que des gens accepteront d’être interviewés. Juliette hopes that people will agree to be interviewed.
  • after negated verbs of opinion (affirmerto confirm, croireto believe, direto say, être d’avis deto be of the opinion that, penserto think, etc.)
Examples:
Tu penses que Juliette est une bonne présentatrice. You think that Juliette is a good presenter.
affirmative verb of opinion + indicative
Tu ne penses pas que Juliette soit une bonne présentatrice. You don’t think that Juliette is a good presenter.
negated verb of opinion + subjunctive
Example:
Il est important qu’elle reste concentrée et professionnelle, même si elle a parfois très envie de rire. It’s important that she remains focused and professional, even when she really wants to laugh sometimes.
il est important que + subjunctive

Note

Some verbs can be used with both the indicative and the subjunctive depending on the meaning we wish to convey: the subjunctive adds a sense of uncertainty, whereas the indicative presents information as factual.

Examples:
Il semble que Juliette a envie de rire. It seems like Juliette wants to laugh.
indicative = presents the information as a fact
Il semble que Juliette ait envie de rire. It seems like Juliette wants to laugh.
subjunctive = presents the information with uncertainty

Still not sure? Take a look at our complete list of French verbs and phrases that take the subjunctive.

Subjonctif présent or subjonctif passé?

There are two possible forms of the subjunctive: the subjonctif présent and the subjonctif passé. We use the subjonctif présent when we want to talk about events that take place simultaneously.

Example:
Il est important pour lui qu’il puisse jouer dans des films.It’s important to him that he can still act in films.

We use the subjonctif passé when:

  • the verb in the main clause is in the past.
    Example:
    Il était important pour lui qu’il ait pu jouer dans des films.It was important to him that he could act in films.
  • the action in the subjunctive clause happened before the action in the main clause. The verb in the first clause can be conjugated in either the past or the present.
    Examples:
    Il est important pour lui qu’il ait pu jouer dans des films.It’s important to him that he was able to act in films.
    Il était important pour lui qu’il ait pu jouer dans les films.It was important to him that he was able to act in films.

How to conjugate the subjonctif présent

We form the subjonctif présent using the present-tense verb stem of the 3rd person plural and the endings -e, -es, -e, -ions, -iez, -ent. These endings are the same for all three verb groups.

Person aimer – ils aiment finir – ils finissent* dormir – ils dorment** vendre – ils vendent
1st person singular (I) que j’aime que je finisse que je dorme que je vende
2nd person singular (you) que tu aimes que tu finisses que tu dormes que tu vendes
3rd person singular (he/she/it) qu’il aime qu’il finisse qu’il dorme qu’il vende
1st person plural (we) que nous aimions que nous finissions que nous dormions que nous vendions
2nd person plural (you) que vous aimiez que vous finissiez que vous dormiez que vous vendiez
3rd person plural (they) qu’ils aiment qu’ils finissent qu’ils dorment qu’ils vendent

* Most -ir verbs are conjugated like finir. Choisir, réagir, réfléchir and réussir belong to this group. Here we add an -iss- to the word stem in the plural forms.

** Most -ir verbs that are not conjugated like finir, are conjugated like dormir. Mentir, partir and sentir are part of this group. We don’t add -iss- to form the plural.

The verbs avoir and être are irregular.

Person avoir être
1st person singular (I) que j’aie que je sois
2nd person singular (you) que tu aies que tu sois
3rd person singular (he/she/it) qu’il ait qu’il soit
1st person plural (we) que nous ayons que nous soyons
2nd person plural (you) que vous ayez que vous soyez
3rd person plural (they) qu’ils aient qu’ils soient

Exceptions

  • Many -oir verbs are conjugated in the subjonctif présent using two different verb stems. To conjugate the 1st and 2nd person plural forms, we use the verb stem of the present tense 1st person plural instead of the 3rd person.
    Examples:
    Il arrive souvent qu’il reçoive un prix.It often happens that he receives a prize.
    Il arrive souvent que vous receviez un prix.It often happens that you receive a prize.
  • The following verbs change their stem in the subjonctif présent: allerto go, croireto believe, croîtreto grow, faireto do, falloirto need, naîtreto be born, pleuvoirto rain, pouvoirto be able to, savoirto know, valoirto be worth, voirto see, vouloirto want. To see their complete conjugation go to the list of irregular verbs:
    Example:
    Il faut qu’il fasse un discours.He has to give a speech.

How to conjugate the subjonctif passé

Avoir or être?

The subjonctif passé is constructed with the present subjunctive form of avoir or être and the participe passé of the verb. Most verbs take avoir as their auxiliary in the subjonctif passé.

Examples:
que j’aie aimé
que j’aie fini
que j’aie vendu

The verb être is only used in the following cases:

Example:
se lever → que je me sois levéto get up → that I had got up
  • with the following 16 verbs of movement and change of state:
    naître/mourirto be born/to die, aller/venirto go/to come, monter/descendreto go up/to go down, arriver/partirto arrive/to leave, entrer/sortirto enter/to go out, apparaîtreto appear, devenirto become, passerto pass, resterto stay, retournerto return, tomberto fall
    Example:
    Il est probable que Luc soit allé en vacances.It is likely that Luc went on vacation.
  • and their derivatives:
    → revenirto come back, rentrerto return (home), remonterto go back up, redescendreto go back down, repartirto leave again, …
    Example:
    Le fait que nous soyons repartis le lendemain a surpris tout le monde.The fact that we left the next day surprised everyone.

Info

If the verbs descendreto go down, (r)entrerto enter, (re)monterto go (back) up, retournerto go back, and sortirto leave are used with a direct object, the auxiliary avoir is used. This often implies a change in meaning.

Example:
Il faut que vous soyez sortis avant 12 heures.You must be out before noon.
no direct object, we use the auxiliary être
but: Il faut que vous ayez sorti les carottes du frigo avant le dîner.You need to take the carrots out of the refrigerator before dinner.
take out what? les carottes is the direct object, we use the auxiliary avoir

For more information on when to use which auxiliary, go to our avoir vs. être page.

Participe passé

For the regular -er/-ir/-re verbs, the past participle is easy to construct:

  • If the infinitive ends in -er, the participle ends in é
    Example:
    aimer – aimélike – liked
  • If the infinitive ends in -ir, the participle ends in i
    Example:
    finir – finifinish – finished
  • If the infinitive ends in -re, the participle ends in u
    Example:
    vendre – vendusell – sold

For the irregular verbs, we need to look up the participle form in the list of irregular verbs or check their conjugation in the verb conjugator.

Agreement of the participe passé

In some situations, the participe passé has to agree in gender and number with either the subject or direct object of the sentence:

  • when a verb takes être as an auxiliary, the past participle has to agree in gender and number with the subject.
    Examples:
    Je ne crois pas qu’il soit allé au studio de télévision.I don’t think he went to the television studio. (subject = masculine singular)
    Je ne crois pas qu’elle soit allée au studio de télévision.I don’t think she went to the television studio. (subject = feminine singular)
    Je ne crois pas qu’ils soient allés au studio de télévision.I don’t think they went to the television studio. (subject = masculine plural)
    Je ne crois pas qu’elles soient allées au studio de télévision.I don’t think they (only women) went to the television studio. (subject = feminine plural)
  • when a verb takes avoir as an auxiliary, the past participle only agrees in gender and number when there’s a direct object before the verb. The direct object can be:
    • a noun
      Example:
      Je ne pense pas que la lettre ait été écrite par elle.I don’t think the letter was written by her. (direct object = feminine singular)
      la lettre is the direct object and comes before the verb
    • a personal pronoun (me, te, le, la, nous, vous, les)
      Examples:
      Pourvu que sa famille lui ait souhaité son anniversaire. → Pourvu que sa famille le lui ait souhaité.Hopefully his family wished him a happy birthday. → Hopefully his family wished it him. (direct object = masculine singular)
      Pourvu que sa famille lui ait souhaité sa fête. → Pourvu que sa famille la lui ait souhaitée.Hopefully his family wished him a happy name day. → Hopefully his family wished it him. (direct object = feminine singular)
  • the past participle also has to agree when a verb is reflexive (reflexive verbs always take être in the passé composé). In most cases, the participle agrees with the subject.
    Example:
    Il est possible que nous nous soyons levés trop tard.It’s possible that we got up too late. (subject = masculine plural)

    However, there’s no agreement when a direct object comes after the reflexive verb.

    Example:
    Il vaudrait mieux qu’elle se soit lavé les mains.It would be better if she had washed her hands.
    les mains are the direct object of lavé, no agreement is needed
    → but: Il vaudrait mieux qu’elle se soit lavée.It would be better if she had washed herself.
    there’s no direct object, so agreement is needed
    Although it’s reflexive, the past participle of the verb se rendre compte (to realise) doesn’t agree with the subject of the sentence. This is because the word compte acts as a direct object.
    Example:
    Je ne crois pas qu’elle se soit rendu compte de son erreur.I don’t think she realised her mistake.

Important

Remember: the past participle never agrees with an indirect object.

Example:
Je ne crois pas que Marie et Laurent se soient téléphoné.I don’t believe that Marie and Laurent called each other on the phone.
se = indirect object (téléphoner à qui ? → “to whom?”)

For these verbs, se is always an indirect object: se téléphonerto call each other, se parlerto talk to each other, se mentirto lie to each other, se plaire (complaire/déplaire)to like each other, se sourireto smile at each other, se rireto laugh at each other, se nuireto hurt each other, se succéderto succeed each other, se suffireto be enough, se ressemblerto look like each other, s’en vouloirto be annoyed with each other.

With these verbs, se means “to each other”. The action goes to the other person, not on the other person. So se is an indirect object and the past participle never changes.

Which verbs are irregular in the subjunctive mood?

Some verbs have an irregular stem or special forms in the subjunctive. Here are the most common ones, with a few examples of present subjunctive conjugation:

allerto go, avoirto have, êtreto be, faireto do, pouvoirto can, savoirto know, valoirto be worth, vouloirto want, as well as the impersonal verbs falloirto have to and pleuvoirto rain.

êtreto be avoirto have allerto go faireto do savoirto know vouloirto want falloirto have to

je sois
tu sois
il / elle soit
nous soyons
vous soyez
ils soient

j’aie
tu aies
il / elle ait
nous ayons
vous ayez
ils aient

j’aille
tu ailles
il / elle aille
nous allions
vous alliez
ils aillent

je fasse
tu fasses
il / elle fasse
nous fassions
vous fassiez
ils fassent

je sache
tu saches
il / elle sache
nous sachions
vous sachiez
ils sachent

je veuille
tu veuilles
il / elle veuille
nous voulions
vous vouliez
ils veuillent

-
-
il faille
-
-
-

For the past subjunctive, irregular forms are based on the auxiliaries avoir and être conjugated in the present subjunctive, together with the past participle, which may also be irregular, as explained in the section the past participle of irregular verbs.

Examples:
Je doute qu’il ait mis le bon mot de passe.I doubt he entered the correct password.
auxiliary avoir in the present subjunctive + past participle of mettre
Il est peu probable qu’ils soient venus à pied.It is unlikely that they came on foot.
auxiliary être in the present subjunctive + past participle of venir

Some verbs have two different stems in the present subjunctive, depending on the subject:

  • One stem for the singular forms and the 3rd person plural
  • Another stem for the 1st and 2nd person plural

Here are the most common ones, with examples of present subjunctive conjugation:
venirto come, prendreto take, boireto drink, devoirto have to, voirto see, croireto believe, mourirto die, tenirto hold, recevoirto receive, appelerto call, jeterto throw, acheterto buy

Subject venirto come prendreto take boireto drink devoirto have to voirto see croireto believe
je / tu / il(s)

vienn-

je vienne

prenn-

ils prennent

boiv-

il boive

doiv-

je doive

voi-

elle voie

croi-

je croie
nous / vous

ven-

nous venions

pren-

vous preniez

buv-

nous buvions

dev-

nous devions

voy-

vous voyiez

croy-

nous croyions

To see the conjugation of a specific verb, you can use our French verb conjugator.

How to form the negative with the subjonctif

In negative sentences with the present subjunctive, the verb is enclosed by the two parts of the negation (ne…pas, ne…jamais, etc.). With the past subjunctive, it is the auxiliary verb avoir or être that is enclosed.

Examples:
Il est important qu’il recommence. → Il est important qu’il ne recommence pas.It is important that he does not start again.
Pourvu qu’ils aient laissé les clés dans l’entrée. → Pourvu qu’ils n‘aient pas laissé les clés dans l’entrée.I hope they didn’t leave the keys in the hallway.

With pronominal verbs, negation is formed in a similar way. In the present subjunctive, the negation surrounds the reflexive pronoun and the verb, and in the past subjunctive, the negation surrounds the reflexive pronoun and the auxiliary verb.

Examples:
Il faudrait qu’elle ne s’épuise pas trop si elle veut gagner la course.She needs to pace herself if she wants to win the race.
Je suis heureux qu’il ne se soit pas trompé dans son calcul.I’m glad he didn’t miscalculate.

Go to our page on negation in French for more information and lots of practice exercises.