In this section:

• Le subjonctif – Irregular formations

• Le subjonctif – Obligation

• Le subjonctif – Other expressions

Le subjonctif – Irregular Formations

You have already seen the subjunctive in an introduction in Module 14. There, you were introduced to regular formation as well as a copule of irregular verbs needed to talk about travel in the Francophone world. In this module, we’ll look at some more common irregular formations of the subjunctive, as well as some more expressions that are used with the subjunctive.

Rappel / Reminder : For most verbs, the subjunctive mood is formed by dropping the -ent ending from the third person plural of the present indicative and adding the endings: -e, -es, -e, -ions, -iez, -ent. This is known as the regular formation of the subjunctive.

Verbs with two stems
There are several categories of irregular subjunctive formations.

1. The first of these categories concerns verbs with two stems in the subjunctive. These verbs have a similar two-stem irregularity in the present indicative (for example, ‘ils viennent’ BUT ‘nous venons’). The boot stem (for the forms je, tu, il / elle, ils / elles) is the third person plural of the present indicative, the very same as the stem for regular formation of the subjunctive. The first person plural of the present indicative provides the second stem for the ‘nous’ and ‘vous’ forms of the subjunctive. The regular subjunctive endings are added to these two stems.
   

   venir  ‘to come’
   que je vienne	que nous venions
   que tu viennes	que vous veniez
   qu’il / qu’elle /qu’iel / qu’on vienne	qu’ils / qu’elles / qu’iels  viennent

In addition to venir, here is a list of the most frequent verbs with two stems in the subjunctive:

infinitive		boot stem, for: je, tu, il/elle/on, ils/elles		2nd stem, for: nous, vous
aller (to go)		que j’aille		que nous allions
boire (to drink)		que je boive		que nous buvions
croire (to believe)		que je croie		que nous croyions
devoir (to have to)		que je doive		que nous devions
mourir (to die)		que je meure		que nous mourions
prendre (to take)		que je prenne		que nous prenions
recevoir (to receive)		que je reçoive		que nous recevions
tenir (to hold)		que je tienne		que nous tenions
voir (to see)		que je voie		que nous voyions
vouloir (to want)		que je veuille		que nous voulions

Irregular verbs: avoir and être
Avoir and être are highly irregular in the subjunctive and must be memorized. Note that the ‘nous’ and ‘vous’ forms are spelled with the letter y (instead of the i characteristic of the regular subjunctive endings). Note in particular the pronunciation of the subjunctive forms of avoir, which have the same vowel sound as found in j’ai (I have), the first person singular in the present indicative.

Note the similarity of the subjunctive forms of the verbs être and avoir to their respective imperative forms.

irregular verbs: faire, savoir, pouvoir
The verbs faire, savoir and pouvoir have completely irregular stems. The endings, however, are regular.

Le subjonctif – Obligation

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.

Note that the expression il faut que is stronger and more emphatic than the verb ‘devoir‘ (which is followed by an infinitive):
Il doit choisir le vin (He must / is supposed to choose the film).

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:

Le subjonctif – other expressions

As you have seen in previous sections, there are certain expressions in main clauses that “trigger” the subjunctive.

When the subordinate clause expresses will, desire, emotion, wishes, advice, doubt, possibility, or judgement, the subjunctive will be used.

• Recommander que – to recommend that
• Exiger que – to insist that
• demander que – to ask that
• vouloir que – to want that
• il est grand temps que – it’s time that
• Regretter que – to regret that
• Être ravi(e) que – to be happy/excited that
• Être déçu que – to be disapointed that
• Avoir peur que – to have fear that
• Être furieux(euse) que- to be furous that
• C’est dommage que – It’s too bad that
• Être étonné que – to be surprised that

Using these expressions, the subordinate clause (the second part of the sentence) will be in the subjunctive mood, meaning your second verb will be conjugated in the subjunctive.

Example:

1. Je suis étonnée que les gens ne fassent pas plus pour la planète.

The main clause is “je suis étonnée que” and the subordinate clause is “les gens ne fassent pas plus pour la planète”. The verb of the subordinate clause is in the subjunctive, whereas the verb of the main clause (être étonné(e)) is in the present indicative.

2.  On est déçu que le niveau de la mer monte si vite.

Try to determine which is the main clause and which is the subordinate clause. Which verb is in the subjunctive in this example?

Let’s look at another example: