The Subjunctive in French : the A* A LEVEL DISCRIMINATOR

Subjunctive


Subjonctif


THE SUBJUNCTIVE IS NOT A TENSE. THERE IS THE
PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE AND THE PERFECT
SUBJUNCTIVE.

In essence, the subjunctive expresses:

 doubts

 opinions

 hopes

 preferences

 other similar feelings towards what is being said

You can also use it to talk about hypothetical situations.

The French subjunctive is a special verb form, called a mood, that is used in
dependent clauses to indicate some sort of subjectivity, uncertainty, or
unreality in the mind of the speaker. In French, feelings like doubt and
desire require the subjunctive, as do expressions of necessity, possibility,
and judgment. The French subjunctive is used after certain verbs and
conjunctions when two pars of a sentence have different subjects. Where
there is no change of subject- you can just use the infinitive. Nous voulons
ÊTRE heureux. However – nous voulons qu’elle soit heureuse.

, For Advanced Level French it is expected that candidates use the subjunctive mood where
applicable. Here is an extract from an Examiners Report



“very few used the subjunctive after craindre or avoir peur que”


“Some candidates do not appear to be taught to avoid the subjunctive when the
subject is the same in both parts of the sentence, eg 'Je prends mon livre pour
pouvoir me détendre' rather than 'pour que je puisse me détendre'.”


Form the subjunctive by taking the ils form of the verb and taking off the ‘ent’ and add the
following endings:




-e
-es
-e
-e
-ions
-iez
-ent