The subjunctive tense is common in the French language. However, it can be challenging for non-native French speakers to determine in which situations to use it and with which phrases and verbs.
In this chapter, we will study the form of the present subjunctive as well as its use. First we will start with the form of the verbs then we’ll explore the use of this tense.
In this part, we will study the verbs of the first group in the present subjunctive. As you already know, the verbs of the first group are called regular verbs because most of the verbs follow the same rule of conjugation.
The subjunctive tense is ALWAYS preceded with “que”. So in all the conjugations of the verbs throughout this chapter, we will have “que” before the verb in the subjunctive.
As a general rule, to conjugate the verbs of the first group into the present subjunctive, we remove the final “er” from the verb in the infinitive and replace it with: “ e, es, e, ions, iez, ent ” depending on the subject that precedes it.
que je marche
que tu marches
qu’il/elle/on marche
que nous marchions
que vous marchiez
qu’ils/elles marchent
Notice what we did to the verb “marcher”: We removed the final “er” and replaced it with “e, es, e, ions, iez and ent”.
For example:
Il faut que je marche plus souvent.
I must walk more often.
Il faut que tu marches plus souvent.
You must walk more often.
Il faut qu’il marche plus souvent.
He must walk more often.
Il faut qu’elle marche plus souvent.
She must walk more often.
Il faut qu’on marche plus souvent.
We must walk more often.
Il faut que nous marchions plus souvent.
We must walk more often.
Il faut que vous marchiez plus souvent.
You must walk more often.
Il faut qu’ils marchent plus souvent.
They must walk more often.
Il faut qu’elles marchent plus souvent.
They must walk more often.
Remember: We always use the subjunctive with “il faut que”.
que je continue
que tu continues
qu’il/elle/on continue
que nous continuions
que vous continuiez
qu’ils/elles continuent
Mon père veut que je continue à travailler avec Patrice.
My father wants me to keep working with Patrice.
Mon père veut que tu continues à travailler avec Patrice.
My father wants you to keep working with Patrice.
Mon père veut qu’il continue à travailler avec Patrice.
My father wants him to keep working with Patrice.
Mon père veut qu’elle continue à travailler avec Patrice.
My father wants her to keep working with Patrice.
Mon père veut qu’on continue à travailler avec Patrice.
My father wants us to keep working with Patrice.
Mon père veut que nous continuions à travailler avec Patrice.
My father wants us to keep working with Patrice.
Mon père veut que vous continuiez à travailler avec Patrice.
My father wants you to keep working with Patrice.
Mon père veut qu’ils continuent à travailler avec Patrice.
My father wants them to keep working with Patrice.
Mon père veut qu’elles continuent à travailler avec Patrice.
My father wants them to keep working with Patrice.
We did the same thing for the verb: “continuer”. We removed the final “er” and replaced it with “ e, es, e, ions, iez, ent ”.
Remember: The subjunctive is always used after the verb “vouloir” to want.
All the verbs of the first group end the same way as “marcher” when conjugated into the present subjunctive. There are however a few verbs which take a slightly different ending when conjugated into the subjunctive. These verbs are the following:
Verbs such as balayer, payer, rayer, etc... have a slightly different rule when conjugated to the subjunctive.
Let’s take the verb “payer” as an example:
que je paie/paye
que tu paies/payes
qu’il/elle/on paie/paye
que nous payions
que vous payiez
qu’ils paient/payent
qu’elles paient/payent
You notice that for the first, second, third person singular and the third person plural, two forms of the verb are possible. So when we have a verb that ends in “yer”, we remove “yer” and replace it with “ie, ies, aie, yions, yiez, ient” or remove the final “er” and replace it with “e, es, e, ions, iez, ent”.
To conjugate the verbs ending in “uyer” and in “oyer” such as: essuyer, appuyer, ennuyer, envoyer, déployer, etc... into the present subjunctive we remove the “yer” at the end of the verb and replace it with: “ie, ies, ie, yions, yiez, ient”.
Conjugation of the verb “essuyer”:
que j’essuieque tu essuiesqu’il/elle/on essuieque nous essuyionsque vous essuyiezqu’ils/elles essuient
Conjugation of the verb “envoyer”:
que j’envoieque tu envoiesqu’il/elle/on envoieque nous envoyionsque vous envoyiezqu’ils/elles envoient
To conjugate the verbs “appeler” and “rappeler” to the present subjunctive, we remove the final “er” and we replace it with “ le, les, le, ions, iez, lent”.
Conjugation of the verb appeler:
que j’appelleque tu appellesqu’il appelleque nous appelionsque vous appeliezqu’ils appellent
Remember: The verb “aller” doesn’t belong to the first group. It belongs to the third group.
In this chapter, we will study the form of the present subjunctive as well as its use. First we will start with the form of the verbs then we’ll explore the use of this tense.
In this part, we will study the verbs of the first group in the present subjunctive. As you already know, the verbs of the first group are called regular verbs because most of the verbs follow the same rule of conjugation.
The subjunctive tense is ALWAYS preceded with “que”. So in all the conjugations of the verbs throughout this chapter, we will have “que” before the verb in the subjunctive.
As a general rule, to conjugate the verbs of the first group into the present subjunctive, we remove the final “er” from the verb in the infinitive and replace it with: “ e, es, e, ions, iez, ent ” depending on the subject that precedes it.
Conjugation of the verb marcher
que je marche
que tu marches
qu’il/elle/on marche
que nous marchions
que vous marchiez
qu’ils/elles marchent
Notice what we did to the verb “marcher”: We removed the final “er” and replaced it with “e, es, e, ions, iez and ent”.
For example:
Il faut que je marche plus souvent.
I must walk more often.
Il faut que tu marches plus souvent.
You must walk more often.
Il faut qu’il marche plus souvent.
He must walk more often.
Il faut qu’elle marche plus souvent.
She must walk more often.
Il faut qu’on marche plus souvent.
We must walk more often.
Il faut que nous marchions plus souvent.
We must walk more often.
Il faut que vous marchiez plus souvent.
You must walk more often.
Il faut qu’ils marchent plus souvent.
They must walk more often.
Il faut qu’elles marchent plus souvent.
They must walk more often.
Remember: We always use the subjunctive with “il faut que”.
Let’s try another verb - continuer
que je continue
que tu continues
qu’il/elle/on continue
que nous continuions
que vous continuiez
qu’ils/elles continuent
Mon père veut que je continue à travailler avec Patrice.
My father wants me to keep working with Patrice.
Mon père veut que tu continues à travailler avec Patrice.
My father wants you to keep working with Patrice.
Mon père veut qu’il continue à travailler avec Patrice.
My father wants him to keep working with Patrice.
Mon père veut qu’elle continue à travailler avec Patrice.
My father wants her to keep working with Patrice.
Mon père veut qu’on continue à travailler avec Patrice.
My father wants us to keep working with Patrice.
Mon père veut que nous continuions à travailler avec Patrice.
My father wants us to keep working with Patrice.
Mon père veut que vous continuiez à travailler avec Patrice.
My father wants you to keep working with Patrice.
Mon père veut qu’ils continuent à travailler avec Patrice.
My father wants them to keep working with Patrice.
Mon père veut qu’elles continuent à travailler avec Patrice.
My father wants them to keep working with Patrice.
We did the same thing for the verb: “continuer”. We removed the final “er” and replaced it with “ e, es, e, ions, iez, ent ”.
Remember: The subjunctive is always used after the verb “vouloir” to want.
All the verbs of the first group end the same way as “marcher” when conjugated into the present subjunctive. There are however a few verbs which take a slightly different ending when conjugated into the subjunctive. These verbs are the following:
Verbs ending in “ayer”
Verbs such as balayer, payer, rayer, etc... have a slightly different rule when conjugated to the subjunctive.
Let’s take the verb “payer” as an example:
que je paie/paye
que tu paies/payes
qu’il/elle/on paie/paye
que nous payions
que vous payiez
qu’ils paient/payent
qu’elles paient/payent
You notice that for the first, second, third person singular and the third person plural, two forms of the verb are possible. So when we have a verb that ends in “yer”, we remove “yer” and replace it with “ie, ies, aie, yions, yiez, ient” or remove the final “er” and replace it with “e, es, e, ions, iez, ent”.
Verbs ending in “uyer” and in “oyer”
To conjugate the verbs ending in “uyer” and in “oyer” such as: essuyer, appuyer, ennuyer, envoyer, déployer, etc... into the present subjunctive we remove the “yer” at the end of the verb and replace it with: “ie, ies, ie, yions, yiez, ient”.
Conjugation of the verb “essuyer”:
que j’essuieque tu essuiesqu’il/elle/on essuieque nous essuyionsque vous essuyiezqu’ils/elles essuient
Conjugation of the verb “envoyer”:
que j’envoieque tu envoiesqu’il/elle/on envoieque nous envoyionsque vous envoyiezqu’ils/elles envoient
“appeler” and “rappeler”
To conjugate the verbs “appeler” and “rappeler” to the present subjunctive, we remove the final “er” and we replace it with “ le, les, le, ions, iez, lent”.
Conjugation of the verb appeler:
que j’appelleque tu appellesqu’il appelleque nous appelionsque vous appeliezqu’ils appellent
Remember: The verb “aller” doesn’t belong to the first group. It belongs to the third group.