How French works
The subjunctive is a verb form that is used to express things such as wishes, opinions and emotions rather than statements of fact:
While in English the subjunctive is very rare, in French the subjunctive is very common. When learning French, it is important to be able to recognize the subjunctive, even if you don’t feel confident enough to use it.
For all regular verbs the subjunctive is formed in the same way: you take the ils form of the present tense , remove the -ent and add -e, -es, -e, -ions, -iez, -ent. Here is the conjugation pattern for regular -er verbs.
| aimer to like | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| que j' | aime | ||
| que tu | aimes | ||
| qu'il / elle | aime | ||
| que nous | aimions | ||
| que vous | aimiez | ||
| qu'ils / elles | aiment | ||
Here are some examples of regular -er verbs in the subjunctive:
Je veux que vous m'aidiez
I want you to help me
Il est possible que nous arrivions en retard
It's possible we'll be late
Il faut que vous mangiez vos carottes
You must eat your carrots
Similarly most verbs ending -ir have a regular conjugation pattern in the subjunctive :
| finir to finish | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| que je | finisse | ||
| que tu | finisses | ||
| qu'il / elle | finisse | ||
| que nous | finissions | ||
| que vous | finissiez | ||
| qu'ils / elles | finissent | ||
Il est possible que nous finissions avant midi
It's possible we'll finish before midday
Il faut que tu réussisses à cet examen
You must pass this exam
The same is true for regular verbs ending -re:
| rendre to give back | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| que je | rende | ||
| que tu | rendes | ||
| qu'il / elle | rende | ||
| que nous | rendions | ||
| que vous | rendiez | ||
| qu'ils / elles | rendent | ||
Il faut que vous me rendiez mon livre
I need you to give me back my book
Je veux qu'elle réponde à ma question
I want her to reply to my question
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