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The subjunctive is required after impersonal expressions of necessity and obligation.
An impersonal expression is any expression introduced by the impersonal pronoun il, usually translated into English by 'it'.
One of the most frequent is il faut que (it is necessary to).
When the main clause uses il faut que, the verb of the dependent clause which follows must be in the subjunctive.
Note that there are always two different subjects in the two clauses.
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| Paw-Paw: Tex, il faut que tu choisisses le vin. |
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PawPaw: Tex, it is necessary that you choose the wine. |
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Note that the expression il faut que is stronger and more emphatic than the verb 'devoir' (which is followed by an infinitive):
Tex doit choisir le vin (Tex must / is supposed to choose the wine).
Below are other common impersonal expressions of obligation and necessity.
Note that they are all followed by the conjunction que which introduces a subordinate clause with a verb in the subjunctive:
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| il est important que, it is important that |
| il est nécessaire que, it is necessary that |
| il est essentiel que, it is essential that |
| il est inévitable que, it is unavoidable that |
| il vaut mieux que, it is better that |
| il est préférable que, it is preferable that |
| il est indispensable que, it is indispensible that |
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Listen to the dialogue:
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| Paw-Paw: Peut-être que ce ne sont pas mes affaires, mais. . . j'ai remarqué que Tammy a choisi le vin à ta place. Ecoute, mon cher, il est préférable que les hommes choississent le vin et que les femmes fassent la cuisine. |
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Paw-Paw: Maybe, it's none of my business, but ... I noticed that Tammy chose the wine instead of you. Listen, my dear, it's better that men choose the wine and that women do the cooking. |
| Tex: Merci pour les conseils, PawPaw, mais il est important que vous compreniez que les temps changent. Aujourd'hui les femmes font beaucoup de choses qu'elles ne pouvaient pas faire autrefois. |
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Tex: Thanks for the advice, PawPaw, but it is important that you understand that times are changing. Now women do a lot of things that they used to not be able to do. |
| Paw-Paw: Ah, je comprends! C'est Tammy qui porte la culotte et pas toi! Alors il faut que je t'achète un tablier, ma petite. |
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Paw-Paw: Oh, I understand. It's Tammy who wears the pants, not you! Well now, I'll have to buy you an apron, my little girl. |
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