Language/French/Grammar/The-attitude-of-the-subject-to-events-the-subjunctive

Lesson: The Subjunctive, Modal Verbs, Exclamatives, and Imperatives - The Attitude of the Subject to Events: The Subjunctive

In French grammar, the subjunctive mood is used to express doubt, possibility, uncertainty, and subjectivity. It is often used to describe the attitude of the subject towards events. In this lesson, we will explore how the subjunctive is used in conjunction with modal verbs, exclamatives, and imperatives.

The Subjunctive with Modal Verbs

Modal verbs are verbs that express necessity, possibility, ability, or permission. Examples of modal verbs in French include "devoir" (must), "pouvoir" (can), "vouloir" (want), and "savoir" (know). When a modal verb is used with the subjunctive, it indicates a sense of doubt or uncertainty.

For example:

Il faut que tu sois là. (You must be there.) Il est possible que tu sois en retard. (It's possible that you are late.) Je veux que tu viennes avec moi. (I want you to come with me.) Je ne sais pas s'il viendra. (I don't know if he will come.)

In each of these sentences, the subjunctive is used to express doubt or uncertainty. It is important to note that the use of the subjunctive with modal verbs is optional. In some cases, the indicative mood can also be used to convey a similar meaning.

The Subjunctive with Exclamatives

Exclamatives are expressions that convey strong emotions or attitudes. Examples of exclamatives in French include "quel" (what a), "comme" (how), and "que" (that). When an exclamative is used with the subjunctive, it indicates surprise, admiration, or disappointment.

For example:

Quelle belle journée! (What a beautiful day!) Comme il danse bien! (How well he dances!) Que tu sois ici est incroyable! (That you are here is incredible!)

In each of these sentences, the subjunctive is used to express surprise, admiration, or disappointment. It is important to note that the use of the subjunctive with exclamatives is also optional. In some cases, the indicative mood can be used to convey a similar meaning.

The Subjunctive with Imperatives

Imperatives are commands or requests. When an imperative is used with the subjunctive, it indicates a sense of urgency, importance, or necessity.

For example:

Que tu viennes tout de suite! (Come here right now!) Il faut que tu partes immédiatement. (You must leave immediately.)

In each of these sentences, the subjunctive is used to indicate a sense of urgency or necessity. It is important to note that the use of the subjunctive with imperatives is rare in modern French. In most cases, imperatives are used with the indicative mood.

In conclusion, the subjunctive is an important aspect of French grammar that is used to express doubt, possibility, uncertainty, and subjectivity. When used with modal verbs, exclamatives, and imperatives, it can convey a sense of urgency, importance, or surprise. Although the use of the subjunctive is optional in many cases, it is an essential tool for expressing a wide range of attitudes towards events.

How to Form the Subjunctive

The subjunctive is formed by taking the third person plural of the present tense, dropping the "-ent" ending, and adding the appropriate subjunctive endings. The subjunctive endings for regular verbs are as follows:

-er verbs: je -e tu -es il/elle/on -e nous -ions vous -iez ils/elles -ent

-ir verbs (except for aller): je -e tu -es il/elle/on -e nous -issions vous -issiez ils/elles -ent

-oir and -re verbs: je -e tu -es il/elle/on -e nous -ions or -ions/-ons (for irregular verbs) vous -iez ils/elles -ent

For irregular verbs, the subjunctive endings may vary. Some irregular verbs have completely different stems in the subjunctive. It is important to memorize the irregular verb conjugations to use the subjunctive accurately.

Common Irregular Subjunctive Forms

Here are some of the most common irregular subjunctive forms:

• Être: que je sois, que tu sois, qu'il/elle/on soit, que nous soyons, que vous soyez, qu'ils/elles soient
• Avoir: que j'aie, que tu aies, qu'il/elle/on ait, que nous ayons, que vous ayez, qu'ils/elles aient
• Aller: que j'aille, que tu ailles, qu'il/elle/on aille, que nous allions, que vous alliez, qu'ils/elles aillent
• Savoir: que je sache, que tu saches, qu'il/elle/on sache, que nous sachions, que vous sachiez, qu'ils/elles sachent
• Faire: que je fasse, que tu fasses, qu'il/elle/on fasse, que nous fassions, que vous fassiez, qu'ils/elles fassent
• Pouvoir: que je puisse, que tu puisses, qu'il/elle/on puisse, que nous puissions, que vous puissiez, qu'ils/elles puissent
• Vouloir: que je veuille, que tu veuilles, qu'il/elle/on veuille, que nous voulions, que vous vouliez, qu'ils/elles veuillent

It is important to note that some verbs have irregular stems in the subjunctive, while others may have irregular endings or both. Some verbs may also have multiple irregular forms depending on the tense and the subject.

Examples of the Subjunctive in Use

Here are some examples of the subjunctive in use:

• Il est important que tu sois là. (It is important that you be there.)
• J'aimerais que tu viennes avec moi. (I would like you to come with me.)
• Je ne crois pas qu'il pleuve demain. (I don't believe it will rain tomorrow.)
• Il est possible que nous allions à la plage demain. (It is possible that we will go to the beach tomorrow.)
• Que tu aies réussi est incroyable! (That you have succeeded is incredible!)

By using the subjunctive, these sentences express a sense of doubt, possibility, uncertainty, or subjectivity. The subjunctive is an essential tool for expressing a wide range of attitudes towards events in French.

Common Triggers for the Subjunctive

Certain words and phrases in French often trigger the use of the subjunctive. Here are some of the most common triggers for the subjunctive:

• Il est important que (It is important that)
• Il est nécessaire que (It is necessary that)
• Il est possible que (It is possible that)
• Je veux que (I want that)
• Je préfère que (I prefer that)
• Il est improbable que (It is unlikely that)
• Il est essentiel que (It is essential that)
• Il est dommage que (It is a shame that)

It is important to note that these triggers are not always followed by the subjunctive. In some cases, the indicative mood may also be used to convey a similar meaning.

Practice Exercises

Here are some practice exercises to test your understanding of the subjunctive:

• Conjugate the verb "aller" in the subjunctive mood for the following subjects: je, tu, il/elle/on, nous, vous, ils/elles.
• Fill in the blank with the correct form of the verb in the subjunctive mood: Il faut que tu _______ (venir) immédiatement.
• Fill in the blank with the correct form of the verb in the subjunctive mood: Je doute qu'il _______ (pouvoir) nous aider.
• Fill in the blank with the correct form of the verb in the subjunctive mood: Quelle surprise que tu _______ (être) ici!
• Rewrite the following sentence using the subjunctive mood: "Je ne crois pas que nous allons partir demain."

Answers:

1. j'aille, tu ailles, il/elle/on aille, nous allions, vous alliez, ils/elles aillent.
2. viennes.
3. puisse.
4. sois.
5. Je ne crois pas que nous partions demain.

Conclusion

In summary, the subjunctive is a mood in French grammar used to express doubt, possibility, uncertainty, and subjectivity. It is often used to describe the attitude of the subject towards events. The subjunctive can be used with modal verbs, exclamatives, and imperatives to convey a sense of urgency, importance, or surprise. The subjunctive is formed by taking the third person plural of the present tense and adding the appropriate subjunctive endings. Irregular verbs have different forms in the subjunctive. Certain words and phrases often trigger the use of the subjunctive. Practicing the use of the subjunctive is essential to mastering French grammar and expressing a wide range of attitudes towards events.

Table of Contents

Nouns

• Types
• Gender
• Plural

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Determiners

• Articles
• Typical use of the definite article
• Typical use of the indefinite article
• The partitive article: du, de l', de la, des
• Use of indefinite and partitive articles after the negative forms ne... pas, ne... jamais, ne... plus, ne... guère
• Omission of the article
• Demonstrative determiners
• Possessive determiners

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Personal and impersonal pronouns

• Subject pronouns
• Object pronouns
• Stressed pronouns
• Demonstrative pronouns
• Possessive pronouns

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Adjectives

• Adjectives modifying the noun
• Adjectives which follow verbs or verbal expressions
• Adjectives with complements
• Indefinite and negative noun phrases with adjective complements
• Adjectives used as nouns
• Adjectives used as adverbs
• Masculine and feminine forms of adjectives
• Plural forms of adjectives
• Adjective agreement with nouns
• Invariable adjectives
• Compound adjectives
• Comparative and superlative forms of adjectives
• Subjunctive versus indicative in clauses dependent on a superlative adjective
• Absolute use of the superlative

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Adverbs

• Function of adverbs
• Formation of adverbs with the ending -ment
• Adjectives used as adverbs without addition of -ment
• Phrases used as adverbs
• English and French adverb formation
• Types of adverbs
• Location of adverbs

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Numbers, measurements, time and quantifiers

• Cardinal numbers
• Ordinal numbers
• Fractions
• Some differences in the use of cardinal and ordinal numbers in French and English
• Measurements and comparisons
• Dates, days, years
• Clock time
• Money
• Quantifiers

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Verb forms

• Conjugations
• Easy ways of generating some parts of the paradigms
• Changes in the stem form of some -er conjugation verbs
• Verbs whose stems end in c- or g-
• Verb paradigms

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Verb constructions

• Relations between verbs and their complements
• Intransitive constructions
• Directly transitive verbs
• Indirectly transitive verbs
• Ditransitive verbs
• The passive
• Pronominal verbs
• Impersonal verbs
• Verbs which take noun + adjective or noun + noun complements

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Verb and participle agreement

• Subject-verb agreement
• Agreement of the past participle with the subject of être
• Agreement of the past participle of verbs conjugated with avoir with a preceding direct object
• Agreement of the past participle of pronominal verbs in compound tenses

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Tense

• The present
• The past
• The future
• Other tenses indicating the time at which events occur relative to other events
• Combining tenses
• Tenses in direct and reported descriptions of events
• Tenses with si

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The subjunctive, modal verbs, exclamatives and imperatives

• The attitude of the subject to events: the subjunctive
• The use of devoir, pouvoir, savoir, falloir
• The French equivalents of the English modal verbs: 'would', 'should', 'could', 'may', 'might', 'ought to', and 'must'
• Exclamatives
• Imperatives

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The infinitive

• Introduction: what are infinitives?
• Infinitives as complements to other verbs
• Verbs which take infinitive complements without a linking preposition
• Verbs which take infinitive complements preceded by the preposition à
• Verbs which take an infinitive complement preceded by de
• Omission of objects before infinitives
• Infinitives as complements to adjectives
• Infinitives as complements to nouns
• Infinitives in subordinate clauses
• Infinitives as polite commands
• Quick-reference index to verbs taking infinitive complements

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Prepositions

• Introduction
• Prepositions listed alphabetically from à to vers
• French translations for common English prepositions

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Question formation

• Introduction
• Yes/no questions
• Information questions
• Order of object pronouns in questions involving inversion
• Order of negative particles in questions involving inversion
• Use of question words and phrases: qui?, que?, quoi?, quel?, de qui?, avec combien de? etc.
• Indirect questions

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Relative clauses

• Introduction
• Use of relative qui
• Use of relative que
• Preposition plus qui
• Use of lequel in relative clauses
• Use of dont, de qui, duquel/de laquelle/desquels/desquelles
• The use of où as a relative pronoun
• Use of relative quoi
• Free relative clauses and the use of ce qui, ce que, ce dont, ce à quoi, ce sur quoi, etc.
• Translating 'whoever', 'whatever', 'wherever', 'whenever', 'however'
• Indicative and subjunctive in relative clauses

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Negation

• Introduction
• Location of sentence negators
• Order of negators in multiple negation
• Omission of ne in sentence negation
• Order of negative elements in questions and imperatives
• ne... pas
• ne... que
• ne... aucun(e), ne... nul(le)
• ne... jamais
• ne... plus
• ne... guère
• ne... rien
• ne... personne
• ne... ni... ni
• sans used with other negators
• ne used alone

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Conjunctions and other linking constructions

• Introduction
• Coordinating conjunctions
• Subordinating conjunctions
• Conjunctions sometimes confused by English speakers
• Repeated subordinating conjunctions
• Subordinating conjunctions used with infinitive clauses
• après avoir/ être + past participle linking an infinitive clause to a main clause
• Past participle phrases used as linkers
• Present participles and gerunds

Other Lessons

• Adverbs ending in —ment derived from the feminine form of an adjective
• Agreement of the past participle with the subject of “être”
• Homophones
• Demonstrative pronouns
• Position of object pronouns with voici and voilà
• Restrictions on possible combinations
• Comparative forms of adjectives
• Types of adverbs
• Polite Form
• on as an equivalent for nous