In this French grammar lesson you will learn about how to form the subjunctive in French.
In this lesson you will learn about:
- how to form the subjunctive in French
- how the subjunctive is used in sentences in French
- how you can quiz yourself on how to form the subjunctive in French
- how Anki files can be downloaded on the topic of how to form the subjunctive in French
Please refer to the French B2 Curriculum to get a better overview of French grammar, if you are curious about how this fits in the overall structure of French B2.
By the end of the lesson you will know all about how to form the subjunctive in French!
Table of Contents
How to form the Subjunctive in French
| ending | ||
| que j’/je | [ils form in the present indicative] – [ent] | e |
| que tu | [ils form in the present indicative] – [ent] | es |
| qu’il/elle/on | [ils form in the present indicative] – [ent] | e |
| que nous | [ils form in the present indicative] – [ent] | ions |
| que vous | [ils form in the present indicative] – [ent] | iez |
| qu’ils/elles | [ils form in the present indicative] – [ent] | ent |
The 3 Step Method To Forming the Subjunctive
In order to form the subjunctive one must:
- Find the ils form of the verb in the present indicative
- Remove the -ent ending
- Add the new ending (e, es, e, ions, iez, ent)
The verb parler means “to speak” in English.
We will take this verb and conjugate it in the “je” form using the three step method.
- parlent
The ils form of parler in the present indicative is parlent.
- parl
When we remove the –ent ending we get parl.
- parle
When we add the new ending we get parle.
So, the je form of parler in the subjunctive is:
que je parle
Example Sentences on How to form the Subjunctive in French
The final section of this lesson on how to form the subjunctive in French is about seeing the subjunctive in action.
This is valuable because you can improve your understanding on how to form the subjunctive through examples.
connaître
connaissent -> connaiss -> connaisse
Il southaite que je connaisse ses enfants.
He wants me to know his children.
jouer
jouent -> jou -> joues
Il veut que tu joues une symphonie de Mozart.
He wants you to play a Mozart symphony.
éteindre
éteignent -> éteign -> éteigne
Il faut qu’il éteigne la lampe.
He has to turn off the lamp.
étudier
étudient -> étudi -> étudiions
Il faut que nous étudiions sa proposition.
We need to study his proposal.
parler
parlent -> parl -> parliez
Il faut que vous parliez clairement.
You must speak clearly.
boire
boivent -> boiv -> boivent
Je doute qu’ils boivent moins d’alcool.
I doubt they drink less alcohol.
Quiz Yourself on How to form the Subjunctive in French
It’s not enough to just read this lesson.
You should test your knowledge to see if you really understood everything, and to be able to repeat the material.
It is also for this reason that it is recommended to download the Anki Decks and do them.
At the end of every lesson you can do a small test.
You will see the sentences of the previous chapter. It is up to you to give the correct answer.
You will either need to fill in the blanks, choose the correct multiple choice option, or both.
Once you are done the correct answer will be shown.
You can redo the quiz as many times as you want.
Anki File for How to form the Subjunctive in French
It is important to do the Anki excercises for this lesson, so that you can remember what you just studied.
By downloading the Anki File for French B2, you can practice every French B2 lesson that is on Language Atlas.
At this moment the Anki File for this lesson doesn’t exist yet. However, in due time this will be available on Language Atlas.
If you don’t know why you should use Anki, or don’t know how to use Anki or merge Anki files please click here.
Anki can be downloaded from here.
