#68 : Conjugation - subjonctif II

Grammar to go!

Hello friends! I hope you’re all enjoying a wonderful end-of-year season! 🎄✨ With my French language school on holiday, I have more time to write for you all 🤗 As promised, I’ll be covering the subjonctif step by step, post by post, by sharing my understanding of this confusing grammar. Let’s go!

Woosh, may your dreams and wishes come true ✨

Just a heads up, I'm not a professional teacher, but rather another learner. The information I share might not be entirely accurate.

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First and foremost, do you know what the subjunctive is in general? What does the word signify? For those who aren’t familiar, take a look at my “Subjonctif - Introduction” post to get a basic idea of what it’s all about. Interestingly, did you know that English has a subjunctive too?!

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Conjugation

Before we dive into understanding the subjonctif in sentences, let’s begin with its conjugation. Some forms of the subjonctif might look unfamiliar at first—you might even think, “Oh! Is this a new word I’ve never seen before?” But in reality, it could simply be être or avoir in disguise! That’s why it’s so useful to learn its conjugation first, what do you think? 😊

Subjonctif - Regular

Here, regular -ER, -IR, and -RE verbs follow similar patterns. Here is how we form:

1. Find the base
   Take the third-person plural form (ils/elles) of the verb in the present tense and remove the -ent ending. That is the base!

   1. parler, the present tense ils/elles parlent → remove -ent → base = parl-.

   2. finir, the present tense ils/elles finissent → remove -ent → base = finiss-.

2. Add the endings for 'je', 'tu', 'il/elle/on', and 'ils/elles'
   Attach the standard endings: -e, -es, -e, -ent. These endings are the same as regular -ER verbs.

3. Add the endings for 'nous' and 'vous'
   For nous and vous, use the endings -ions, -iez, à l’imparfait.

4. Put it all together
   Combine the base from step #2 with the appropriate endings from steps #3 and #4.

For beginners, even forming a regular subjonctif can feel challenging. Let’s be honest—most of us conjugate je, tu, and il more often than ils. Hence, finding the base might need a little extra brainpower already. I feel the same way, but with practice, I’m sure we’ll all get better and better—including me! 😅 Here’s an example for you, this image will help you to understand better 🫰🏻

Source

Subjonctif - Irregular

Of course, there are irregular forms!

I know...

In this case, you need to memorise. There are not ‘too’ many verbs that are irregular, here we go ! (They are not all tho, but let us start from here!)

Source

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Practice 💪

As always, I will give you some exercises to work on!

Conjugate the following verbs in the subjonctif présent.

1. Que je (parler)

2. Que nous (finir)

3. Qu’ils (vendre)

4. Que vous (avoir)

5. Qu’elle (être)

Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verb in the subjonctif.

1. Il faut que je (faire) mes devoirs.

2. Je veux que tu (aller) au supermarché.

3. Il est nécessaire qu’ils (savoir) la vérité.

4. Que nous (pouvoir) finir à temps !

Conjugate these irregular verbs in the subjonctif présent:

1. Être (to be)

2. Avoir (to have)

3. Aller (to go)

4. Faire (to do/make)

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I highly recommend setting aside some time to practice conjugating the subjonctif. Remember, patience and consistency are the keys for improvement! Wishing you all another wonderful day of learning. 😇