The present subjunctive: How to form and use it in French?

To form the present subjunctive for regular -er verbs in French, you’ll use the same forms of the verb as you do for the present tense in French, except for with nous and vous.

• For je, tu, il, elle, on, ils, and elles→ subjunctive present = regular present

• For nous and vous → subjunctive present = i + present tense endings

Let’s take the most romantic verb aimer(to love):

To form the present subjunctive with -ir and -er verbs, you will use the of the ils (for je, tu, il, elle, on, ils, and elles) and nous indicative present tense conjugations. This formation strategy will work for all -ir and -re verbs (aside from the seven irregular present subjunctive verbs).

Here’s the two-step technique for the je, tu, il, elle, on, ils, and elles conjugations (before you end up knowing them by heart). We’ll use the verb écrire (to write) as an example.

• Step 1: Find the base of ils and nous in the regular present tense

  ils écrivent
  nous écrivons

  → same stem!

• Step 2: Add the following endings

  Pronoun(s)	Ending	Example: écrire(to write)
  je	-e	écrive
  tu	-es	écrives
  il, elle, on	-e	écrive
  nous	-ions	écrivions
  vous	-iez	écriviez
  ils, elles	-ent	écrivent

However, nous and vous are often the odd ones, because the for nous and vous verbs in the present tense will sometimes be different from the stem for other subjects. Let’s look at the verb prendere (to talk), which is a verb that has a special stem used for the ils and nous/vous form:

• Step 1: Find the base of ils and nous in the regular present tense

  ils prennent
  nous prenons

  → different stems: prenn- vs. pren-

• Step 2: Add the following endings

  Pronoun(s)	Ending	Example: prendere(to talk)
  je	-e	prenne
  tu	-es	prennes
  il, elle, on	-e	prenne
  nous	-ions	prenions
  vous	-iez	preniez
  ils, elles	-ent	prennent

  Important

  Even though their spelling will vary, verbs sound exactly the same for je, tu, il, elle, on, ils, elles!

  → Check this website to practice to practice and this one for pronunciation help!

Here are the seven irregular verbs in the present subjunctive you need to know by heart to make your life easier in French!

• être

  to be

• avoir

  to have

• aller

  to go

• vouloir

  to want

• faire

  to do

• savoir

  to know

• pouvoir

  to be able to

To form the past subjunctive in French, you will form a compound tense with the auxiliary avoir(to have) or être (to be) conjugated in the present subjunctive, along with a past participle.

If you’d like to learn more about the past subjunctive, check out our separate article on the past subjunctive in French!

There are some expressions to learn by heart that trigger the present subjunctive. You already saw one, il faut que(one must), in the section above! Take a look:

• il faut que

  one must

• il vaut mieux que

  it’d be better if

• dommage que

  shame that

• pourvu que

  provided that

• pour que

  in order to

• avant que

  before

• bien que

  although

• jusqu'à ce que

  until

For example:

There is a very straightforward rule when it comes to adjectives and the subjunctive: if you see an adjective after être (to be) or trouver(to find, to consider), use the subjunctive.

You must also use the subjunctive with verbs expressing emotions, judgments, volition, and doubts.

Let’s look at some examples:

The present subjunctive is also used after a French negation phrase with verbs expressing thoughts. For non-negative sentences with verbs expressing thoughts, the second clause is in the indicative. For example:

Devoir(must, have to) is a useful alternative to the subjunctive, but it can sound a bit blunt. Instead of using a subjunctive expression, such as il vaut mieux que(it'd be better if), you can use devoir and an infinitive. For example:

You can also use the imperative as an alternative for using the subjunctive.

The French Infinitive is another alternative to the present subjunctive. This is not a bad option, but it is more impersonal.

Here are some additional cunning strategies to avoid using the present subjunctive: