How French works
The subjunctive is a verb mood which is used not so much to report facts as to reveal the speaker's attitude towards the facts. It is used after constructions expressing notions such as possibility, doubt, need, wishing, feeling, opinion or hypothesis.
Unlike in English where it is only used in a handful of set expressions such as if I were you, in French it is very common and used in all forms of language, informal as well as formal. The subjunctive is generally used in the following types of subordinate clause: the completive clause , the adverbial clause , and the relative clause .
As has been mentioned in 10:2, when we use language we simultaneously express an attitude towards what we are saying, such as whether we consider it to be an objective truth or else something to be desired or feared, and so on. In a sentence featuring a completive clause , it is this attitude that governs whether the verb in the subordinate clause is in the subjunctive or indicative . The indicative is used in two main contexts:
First, where the main clause presents an idea viewed as a matter of fact rather than of personal interpretation:
Il a dit / déclaré / soutenu / qu'il était au bureau mercredi
He said / declared / maintained / that he was at the office on Wednesday
And second, a subset of the first, where the main clause presents an idea lying on a scale ranging from certainty to probability:
Il est certain qu'il est allé au bureau mercredi
It is certain that he went to the office on Wednesday
Il sait qu'il était au bureau mercredi
He knows he was in the office on Wednesday
Il est probable qu'il ira au bureau mercredi
It is likely that he will go to the office on Wednesday
Je pense qu'il ira au bureau mercredi
I think he will go to the office on Wednesday
When the main clause expresses an idea of uncertainty (ranging from possibility, via improbability, to impossibility):
Il est possible qu'il ait été au bureau mercredi
It is possible that he was in the office on Wednesday
Il n’est guère probable qu’elle ait dit cela
It is hardly likely that she said that
When the main clause expresses an idea of personal will (including wishing, prefering, needing and commanding):
J'aimerais mieux qu'il aille au bureau mercredi
I would prefer it if he went to the office on Wednesday
Il faut que tu viennes immédiatement
You must come immediately
Note an exception to this rule : espérer takes the indicative :
J’espère que tu viendra immédiatement
I hope you will come immediately
Note also that English often uses an infinitive structure in this context, something which is not possible in French:
I would like / prefer him to go to the office on Wednesday
Je voudrais / préférerais qu'il aille au bureau mercredi
When the main clause projects a sense of personal interpretation (involving emotional feelings and opinions):
Je regrette qu'il n'ait pas été au bureau mercredi
I’m sorry he wasn’t in the office on Wednesday
Il a fait cela par crainte qu'elle ne sache qu'il n'était pas au bureau mercredi
He did this out of fear of her knowing that he wasn’t in the office on Wednesday
It is the idea expressed in a main clause which governs the mood of the verb in the completive clause rather than the presence of specific verbs or constructions. As such, a synonym of a verb or expression that you know takes the indicative or subjunctive is likely to take the same mood . For example, if you know that il est probable que takes the indicative, so too will il y a de fortes chances que or il y a toutes les chances que. Similarly, if you know that vouloir que takes the subjunctive, so too will aimer bien que, cela me fera plaisir que, and so on.
One exception to this is paraître que which takes the indicative and sembler que which takes the subjunctive :
Il paraît que le concert a été annulé Il semble que le concert ait été annulé
It seems that the concert has been cancelled
Note, however, that the construction il me semble que always takes the indicative:
Ils me semble que le concert a été annulé
It seems to me that the concert has been cancelled
Consequently, when some verbs and constructions normally taking the indicative are used in the negative or interrogative they are considered to express uncertainty and therefore take the subjunctive :
Je ne pense pas qu'il soit au bureau aujourd'hui
I don’t think he’s in the office today
Est-il vrai qu'il ait été au bureau mercredi?
Is it true that he was in the office on Wednesday?
Note that in everyday or informal language the subjunctive is not always used by native French speakers in this context. This is always the case after est-ce que. Compare, for example:
Est-il vrai qu'il soit en vacances la semaine prochaine?
Est-ce qu’il est vrai qu’il sera en vacances la semaine prochaine?
Is it true that he will be on holiday next week?
It is important to note that if the subject of the main clause is the same as that of the subordinate clause, then the verb in the subordinate clause must be an infinitive . Compare for example:
Je suis content qu'elle ait réussi
I'm glad she succeeded
but
Je suis content d'avoir réussi
[and not *Je suis content que j'aie réussi]
I'm glad I succeeded
This process, called infinitive transformation, is not obligatory when the subordinate clause verb is in the indicative :
J’espère réussir / que je réussirai
I hope I succeed
Where the completive clause acts as the subject of a sentence, the verb is always in the subjunctive :
Qu'il dise la vérité ne fait aucun doute
That he is telling the truth is not in doubt
Qu'elle ait réussi dans des conditions si difficiles est remarquable
That she succeeded in such difficult conditions is remarkable
By extension, the construction le fait que also takes the subjunctive:
Le fait qu'elle ait réussi dans des conditions si difficiles est remarquable
The fact that she succeeded in such difficult conditions is remarkable
This is not to be confused with the construction le fait est que, which takes the indicative :
Le fait est que nous n'avons pas la moindre idée sur la façon de résoudre le problème
The fact is that we don't have the slightest idea how to solve the problem
Although the subjunctive is most commonly found in a subordinate clause , it is sometimes used in a main clause to express a command or wish. In fact, it is possible to view this construction as a subordinate clause standing alone, i.e. where the main clause (e.g. Je veux que... ) has been left out. Clauses of this type can be introduced with or without que. They are generally only used in formal language or in set expressions:
Qu'il vienne me le dire!
Let him come and tell me that!
Vaille que vaille
Somehow or other
Dieu vous bénisse!
God bless you!
Vive la France!
Long live France!
Alternatively, print out the following in table in PDF format. On the left-hand side of the table vertically verbs are listed according to whether they express certainty or probability on the one hand, and possibility and uncertainty on the other (sometimes referred to as the scale of certainty). The shaded part of the table indicates verbs causing the subjunctive, while the unshaded part indicates those that in general cause the indicative. Those verbs marked in bold can, according to their context, take either the subjunctive or the indicative .