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The subjunctive is one of four moods in French (indicative, imperative, subjunctive and conditional).
A mood is a grammatical term which helps categorize verb tenses. The subjunctive is used more frequently in French than in English.
One important use of the subjunctive is after the expression il faut que, indicating necessity.
The subjunctive also expresses a feeling or emotion such as a wish, hope, or doubt.
For most verbs, the subjunctive mood is formed by dropping the -ent ending from the third person plural of the present indicative and adding the endings:
-e, -es, -e, -ions, -iez, -ent.
This is known as the regular formation of the subjunctive.
verbs with two stems
There are several categories of irregular subjunctive formations. The first of these categories concerns verbs with two stems in the subjunctive.
These verbs have a similar two-stem irregularity in the present indicative (for example, 'ils viennent' BUT 'nous venons').
The boot stem (for the forms je, tu, il / elle, ils / elles) is the third person plural of the present indicative,
the very same as the stem for regular formation of the subjunctive.
The first person plural of the present indicative provides the second stem for the 'nous' and 'vous' forms of the subjunctive.
The regular subjunctive endings are added to these two stems.
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| venir 'to come' |
| que je vienne |
que nous venions |
| que tu viennes |
que vous veniez |
| qu'il / elle / on vienne |
qu'ils / elles viennent |
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In addition to venir, here is a list of the most frequent verbs with two stems in the subjunctive:
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| infinitive |
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boot stem, for:
je, tu, il/elle/on, ils/elles |
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2nd stem, for:
nous, vous |
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| aller (to go) |
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que j'aille |
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que nous allions |
| boire (to drink) |
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que je boive |
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que nous buvions |
| croire (to believe) |
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que je croie |
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que nous croyions |
| devoir (to have to) |
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que je doive |
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que nous devions |
| mourir (to die) |
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que je meure |
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que nous mourions |
| prendre (to take) |
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que je prenne |
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que nous prenions |
| recevoir (to receive) |
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que je reçoive |
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que nous recevions |
| tenir (to hold) |
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que je tienne |
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que nous tenions |
| voir (to see) |
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que je voie |
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que nous voyions |
| vouloir (to want) |
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que je veuille |
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que nous voulions |
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irregular verbs: avoir and être
Avoir and être are highly irregular in the subjunctive and must be memorized.
Note that the 'nous' and 'vous' forms are spelled with the letter y (instead of the i
characteristic of the regular subjunctive endings).
Note in particular the pronunciation of the subjunctive forms of avoir,
which have the same vowel sound as found in j'ai (I have), the first person singular in the present indicative.
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| avoir 'to have' |
| que j'aie |
que nous ayons |
| que tu aies |
que vous ayez |
| qu'il / elle / on ait |
qu'ils / elles aient |
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| être 'to be' |
| que je sois |
que nous soyons |
| que tu sois |
que vous soyez |
| qu'il / elle / on soit |
qu'ils / elles soient |
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Note the similarity of the subjunctive forms of the verbs être and avoir
to their respective imperative forms.
irregular verbs: faire, savoir, pouvoir
The verbs faire, savoir and pouvoir have completely irregular stems.
The endings, however, are regular.
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| faire 'to do' |
| que je fasse |
que nous fassions |
| que tu fasses |
que vous fassiez |
| qu'il / elle / on fasse |
qu'ils / elles fassent |
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| infinitive |
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first person present subjunctive |
| savoir (to know) |
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que je sache |
| pouvoir (to be able) |
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que je puisse |
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Note the similarity between the subjunctive and imperative forms of the verb savoir.
Listen to the dialogue:
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| Paw-Paw donne des conseils à son petit-fils, Tex. |
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Paw-Paw is giving advice to his grandson Tex. |
| Paw-Paw: Tex, mon cher, il faut que tu saches que la vie est courte. Tammy est une tatou formidable. Tu ne vas pas trouver une meilleure femme. Il ne faut pas que Tammy et toi ayez peur de vous marier. Dépêchez-vous! Comme je l'ai dit . . . la vie est courte. Moi, je veux seulement que vous soyez heureux. Et une autre chose: après votre mariage, il faut que vous veniez me voir. Je suis tout seul en Louisiane et la famille me manque. Il faut que nous fassions plus de choses ensemble. Il faut que j'aie plus de compagnie. |
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Paw-Paw: Tex, my dear, you have to know that life is short. Tammy is a fabulous armadillo. You are not going to find a better wife. You and Tammy must not be afraid to get married. Hurry up! As I said . . . life is short. As for me, I only want you to be happy. And another thing. After your marriage, you must come see me. I am all alone in Louisiana and I miss my family. We have to do more things together. I've got to have more company. |
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