The subjunctive mood

Why use the subjunctive? It is very commonly used by native French speakers. Examiners love it because it makes you sound very sophisticated!

When to use: Certain expressions It is always used after certain conjunctions. In fact this is the easiest way to use it as you can learn these phrases as fixed expressions. E.g. Bien que – although Afin que – in order that A condition que – on the condition that A moins que – unless Pour que – so that Pourvu que – given that Avant que - before

When to use: Expressions of doubt, possibility & probability It is always used after expressions of doubt. This can be a good way of sounding confident but recognising that other opinions may be held Je doute que – I doubt that Je ne suis pas sûr que – I’m not sure that Je ne pense pas que – I don’t think that Il est possible que…It’s possible that Il se peut que… It may be that

When to use: value judgements and subjective opinions It is also used to express wishes, desires and emotions. This is an excellent way to introduce personal opinions to your spoken and written French Je suis content(e) que Je regrette que Il est triste que Il est important que

When to use: Wishing, willing, ordering and wanting It is also used after certain commands. Again this are good ways of expressing your opinions Il faut que – One must Il est nécessaire que – It is necessary that Il est essentiel que Je veux que- I want

Remember! This is not an exhaustive list of phrases which take the subjunctive but it is an excellent start.

How to form the tense For regular verbs take the “ils/elles” form of the present tense, take off the –ent, and add the following endings Jee Tues Il/Elle /One Nousions Vousiez Ils/Ellesent

Irregular verbs Unfortunately some verbs are irregular. The most common exceptions appear on the following slide.

g) Vouloir=veuill-

Now to practice… HOMEWORKWork through exercises in Elan Grammar Workbook pages Follow the link to some internet inspired revision htmhttp://french.about.com/library/weekly/aa htm