THE SUBJONCTIF

Subjonctif - French Subjunctive

Regular verb conjugations

Many students of French find that the subjunctive is very difficult to master, but hopefully this lesson will simplify matters for you. In Part I, we will learn how to conjugate the present subjunctive of regular verbs. In Part II, we will learn the present subjunctive of irregular verbs. And finally in Part III, we will learn to use the subjunctive.

For all regular verbs (-ER, -IR, and -RE), take the 3rd person plural form (ils) of the present tense of the verb, drop the -ent ending to find the stem, and add the subjunctive endings as follows:

                                                                                                 

		parler	choisir	rendre
Ils...		parlent	choisissent	rendent
stem		parl	choisiss	rend
Subjunctive endings
... que je	-e	parle	choisisse	rende
... que tu	-es	parles	choisisses	rendes
... qu' il/elle/on	-e	parle	choisisse	rende
... que nous	-ions	parlions	choisissions	rendions
... que vous	-iez	parliez	choisissiez	rendiez
... qu' ils/elles	-ent	parlent	choisissent	rendent

Note that -IR verbs like sortir and partir and -RE verbs like mettre which are irregular in the present tense are regular in the subjunctive.

                                         

	partir	mettre
... que je	parte	mette
... que tu	partes	mettes
... qu' il/elle/on	parte	mette
... que nous	partions	mettions
... que vous	partiez	mettiez
... qu' ils/elles	partent	mettent