Your Subjunctive French Guide: How to Confidently Conjugate This Mood

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When you’re expressing a certain kind of mindset or attitude in French, you’ll need to know the subjunctive. Often erroneously referred to as an advanced tense, the subjunctive is actually considered a mood in grammar. It’s used to express statements with a certain amount of subjectivity or possibility, such as hoping someone will do something with you in the future. Knowing subjunctive French is a huge step in achieving mastery in the language. 

What’s the French subjunctive mood?

The subjunctive is a mood, which is a category of speech that describes the speaker’s intent or attitude toward what they are saying. Let’s compare these three moods that exist in English and French.

The indicative mood simply states what is factual or believed to be reality. This is the mood that beginners usually learn first, as they begin to speak in the present, past, and future indicative tenses. 

• Tu fais tes devoirs tous les jours. = You do your homework every day. 

The imperative mood commands the listener to do something. 

• Fais tes devoirs tous les jours ! = Do your homework every day!

The subjunctive mood in French can express a wish or desire imposed on another subject, an opinion, or a sense of possibility. 

• Je veux que tu fasses tes devoirs tous les jours. = I want you to do your homework every day.

In each of the above cases, the basic action of the listener doing their homework every day is the same, but the way the speaker forms the sentence suggests a different nuance.  

How to conjugate the subjunctive French mood

If you’ve started learning about French verb conjugation, you already know that the patterns vary depending on the tense. Moods like the French subjunctive function similarly. There are many verb forms that will be indistinguishable from the indicative mood, but certain verbs will be spelled quite differently. For this post we’ll focus on the present tense subjunctive, but other subjunctive tenses exist for the past and in literature.

Regular pattern

Forl -ER, -IR, and -RE verbs that follow a regular subjunctive French pattern, use these steps. 

1. Use the ils/elles (3rd person plural) form of the present tense of the verb
2. Remove the “-ent” ending to get the stem
3. Add the ending according to the chart below

Notice these forms when you see them or hear them in French movies, and they’ll become more and more familiar to you. Soon you’ll be able to conjugate subjunctive French verbs with ease. Certain verbs are obvious, as they are spelled and pronounced quite differently from the present tense indicative forms. 

• Il faut que tu connaisses ma voisine ! = It’s necessary for you to meet my neighbor!
• Je doute qu’il dorme moins de six heures. = I doubt that he sleeps less than six hours. 
• Il exige que j’écrive plus de dix pages avant demain. = He demands that I write more than ten pages before tomorrow. 

Not all subjunctive French sentences are so obvious. As you can see, if you follow this pattern for regular -ER verbs in French, you won’t notice a difference in some forms. 

• Indicative: Je mange des légumes.= I eat vegetables. 
• Subjunctive: Ma mère veut que je mange des légumes. = My mother wants me to eat vegetables. 

But you might notice the difference in other verb forms. 

• Indicative: Nous mangeons à huit heures.= We eat at eight o’clock.  
• Subjunctive: Ma mère veut que nous mangions à huit heures.= My mom wants us to eat at eight o’clock. 

French verbs with irregular stems in the subjunctive

As with all tenses and moods, there are certain verbs that don’t follow the regular pattern for finding the stem, though they have the same recognizable endings in French. One of the best ways to master these verbs is to see them through repeated and meaningful contexts, like the ones you’ll encounter through Rosetta Stone’s Dynamic Immersion. For now, take a look at this chart and example of subjunctive verbs with irregular stems.

• Il est temps que tu fasses attention. = It’s time you pay attention. 
• Ce n’est pas important que tu saches toutes les conjugaisons. = It’s not important that you know all of the conjugations. 

French verbs with a stem or spelling change in the subjunctive

Certain verbs have an irregular stem that changes in the nous and vous forms of the verb. To conjugate the subjunctive mood in French you’ll need to learn these new stems and patterns. 

• Il faut que j’aille. = It’s necessary that I go.  
• Je regrette qu’elle ne veuille pas terminer ses études. = I regret that she doesn’t want to finish her studies. 

Other verbs with stem or spell changes in the nous and vous form include: 

• buvoir (to drink): boive, boives, boive, buvions, buviez, boivent
• devoir (to be obligated): doive, doives, doive, devions, deviez, doivent
• lever (to lift): lève, lèves, lève, levions, leviez, lèvent
• prendre (to take): prenne, prennes, prenne, prenions, preniez, prennent
• venir (to come): vienne, viennes, vienne, venions, veniez, viennent
• voir (to see): voie, voies, voie, voyions, voyiez, voient

Completely irregular French verbs in the subjunctive

Other verbs just follow their own rules when it comes to formation in the subjunctive mood in French. You’ll probably not be surprised to see that être (to be) and avoir (to have) are two that don’t follow a pattern, since they are two of the most common French verbs that are usually irregular. 

• On cherche une maison qui soit près de l’école. = We are looking for a house that is close to the school. 
• Il est essentiel que vous ayez votre permis de conduire avant de conduire une voiture. = It’s essential that you have your license before you drive a car. 

>>Review how to use the French tenses for verbs that you use in everyday communication!

When to use the subjunctive in French

The subjunctive mood is used in various situations in French. With time and practice, you’ll begin to recognize the phrases and structures that seem to trigger (or require) the use of the subjunctive according to French grammar rules. We’ve broken these triggers into categories to make them easier to grasp. 

Many French learners and teachers have found the acronym “WEIRD” to be helpful in conceptualizing the subjunctive mood in French. 

• W: Wishes, Will
• E: Emotions and Opinions
• I: Impersonal Expressions
• R: Recommendations and refusals
• D: Doubts

Expressions of will and wishes

In this situation, there are two different subjects. The subject in the first clause is imposing their will or a wish on a different subject in the second clause. The clauses are joined by que. 

• Elle veut que sa voisine parte. = She wants her neighbor to leave. 
• Je souhaite qu’il vienne à la réunion. = I hope that he comes to the meeting. 
• Nous voulons que notre professeur explique mieux la leçon. = We want our teacher to explain the lesson better. 

Remember that there is no need for the subjunctive if there is no change in subject. In this case, simply use the infinitive.

• Elle veut partir. = She wants to leave. 
• Je souhaite venir à la réunion. = I wish to come to the meeting. 
• Nous voulons mieux expliquer la leçon. = We want to explain the lesson better. 

These expressions trigger the subjunctive. 

The verb espérer (to hope) seems to be an exception. The subordinate clause is in the indicative mood. 

• J’espère que tu pourras venir ce soir. = I hope that you will be able to come tonight. 

Expressions of emotion

When the subject of the first clause has a particular reaction to the actions of the second subject, this is expressed through the subjunctive. 

• Je suis ravie que vous soyez ici. = I am delighted that you are here. 
• Il est furieux que nous fassions trop de bruit. = He is furious that we make too much noise. 

These expressions trigger the subjunctive and follow the structure être (emotion) que (to be emotion that).  

Impersonal expressions

Impersonal expressions can trigger the subjunctive. Some have a meaning of obligation or implicit demand on the subject of the subordinate clause. 

• Il est temps qu’il sache la vérité. = It is time that he knew the truth.
• Il vaut mieux que vous n’alliez pas. = It’s better that you don’t go. 

These impersonal expressions trigger the subjunctive. They often carry a meaning of judgment, obligation, or opinion. 

You’ll notice that the impersonal expressions that indicate something is false, such as il n’est pas vrai que… (it’s not true that) and il est faux que (it’s false that) both trigger the subjunctive. Those that indicate truth and reality, such as il est vrai que (it’s true that) will not. 

Recommendations and refusals

In this case, one subject is offering a suggestion or recommendation to another subject. There is no guarantee that the second subject will act accordingly. 

• Je refuse qu’elle soit punie. = I refuse that she should be punished. 
• Le guide conseille que nous cherchions un autre hôtel. = The guide advises that we look for another hotel. 

Use the French subjunctive with expressions of doubt

When the subject of the first clause wishes to cast doubt on the following clause, the subjunctive accomplishes this. 

• Je ne suis pas certaine qu’elle soit là. = I am not certain that she is here. 
• La prof doute que je réussisse. = The teacher doubts that I’m going to succeed. 

While expressions of certainty, such as croire que…(to believe that) and être sûre que (to be sure that…) use the indicative, the following expressions require the subjunctive because they are expressing doubt and uncertainty. 

Other phrases that trigger the subjunctive in French

Certain conjunctions and phrases will require the subjunctive in the clause that follows. Now that you know the other situations where the subjunctive is used, you can see that these conjunctions can be followed by an attitude of uncertainty. What follows is a possible reality, but not a guaranteed fact. 

• J’irai à la soirée à condition qu’il ne soit pas là. = I’ll go to the party provided that he’s not there. 
• J’ai imprimé les directions pour que tu puisses arriver sans problèmes. = I’ve printed the directions so that you can arrive without problems. 

Knowing when to use subjunctive vs. indicative in French

Now that you’ve seen the forms and situations in which the subjunctive mood is used in French, you’ll be more likely to notice it in different contexts. Comparing pairs of similar sentences is helpful to really grasp the mindset that is implied in the subjunctive mood. 

Master the French subjunctive and other moods with Rosetta Stone

There’s a lot to be said for study and practice when you’re learning a language. Memorization alone doesn’t tend to stick for most learners, so it’s worth taking a look at how Rosetta Stone works. Through engaging contexts like stories read by native speakers and phrasebooks with essential terms, learners pick up on complicated tenses and moods like the French subjunctive. For additional support, you can even attend live lessons or have a tutor explain the finer points of the subjunctive mood in French.