More about the French subjunctive
There are certain verbs after which the subjunctive mood is often used. Here are some of them.
Verbs expressing DESIRE, WANTS, WISHES or a NEED.
attendre que – to wait until something happens.
aimer mieux que – to want more that, to prefer.
préférer que - to prefer.
désirer que - to desire that, to want.
vouloir que - to want that.
il est important que - it is important that.
NECESSITY
il faut que – it is necessary that.
- il faut que tu le fasses. You must do it.
- il faut que vous fazziez le travail. It is necessary that you do the work.
il est necessaire que – It is necessary that.
il est urgent que - It is urgent that.
POSSIBILITY and PROBABILITY
il semble que – it seems.
il parâit que – it is appears that, it seems.
il est possible que, il se peut que – it is possible that.
il est impossible que - it is impossible that.
DOUBT
douter de - to doubt something.
- Il doute qu’elle vienne.
- He doubts that she is coming or will come.
EMOTIONS like FEAR,HAPPINESS, UNHAPPINESS, SHOCK, SURPRISE,
aimer que – like that.
être content que - to be happy that.
Nous sommes heureux qu’elle comprenne.
We are happy that she understands.
EMOTIONS like REGRET, ANGER
être fâché que – to be angry that.
avoir honte que - to be ashamed that.
There are also certain conjunctions after which the subjunctive is commonly used.
afin que -in order that, so that.
pour que - so that.
bien que – although.
quoique - although.
These are just a few examples of the times that one uses the subjunctive. There are many, many more examples and you should practise these many times over, with many different verbs and phrases. Soon you will get to hear the subjunctive and be able to recognise it more and more.
Of course if you do not use the subjunctive you will still be understood. However if you want to raise your French from that intermediate to advanced level the subjunctive is one of the subjuects that needs to be studied and practised in some depth. This is one of the more difficult areas of learning French, but with practise you will conquer it.
This lesson has been adapted from the book ‘French Grammar’ by William Rowlinson, and published by Oxford UniversityPress and available at major book sellers.