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Subjunctive

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An in-depth look at essential aspects of Frenchlanguage & culture, including common difficulties, customs, and important events. LF à fond is published every other Sunday and includes lessons, quizzes, and practice exercises to help you master each topic.
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Subjunctive

For moody French lovers

Laura K Lawless
Aug 6, 2023
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Subjunctive

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The French subjunctive can be extremely daunting - there's a heck of a lot to learn and remember. 📜 Plus, at first it just seems kind of weird, right? But like everything else, the subjunctive can be mastered with good lessons, quality practice, and a fair amount of time. And there's a pretty good hint right in the name:

The subjunctive is often required for subjective situations. 💭

Today’s issue of Lawless French à fond dives into this complicated verb mood, with detailed lessons on everything to do with the French subjunctive.

Prerequisites

The subjunctive is an intermediate+ grammar concept, and to understand it, you need a solid foundation in two more basic concepts. 🏁

Introduction to clauses

What are subordinating conjunctions?

Subjunctive Lessons

With the prerequisites firmly in hand, it's time to submerge yourself in the nitty gritty.

➡️ Subjunctive 101

⚠️ The subjunctive is not a verb tense - it's a mood.*

Conjugations

The conjugations are a bit tricky, it's true. But learning the patterns definitely helps.

  • Regular verbs

  • Irregular verbs

Uses

The subjunctive is used a lot. A lot! It's not formal or special in any way; it's a vital verb form that you need to master. These lessons break down the different triggers that (might) call for the subjunctive.

  • Conjunctions

  • Feelings + subjectivity

  • Indefinite pronouns

  • Negation + interrogation

  • Superlatives + limits

  • Special uses

Subjunctive Hacks

By now it should be very clear that the subjunctive is a vast topic that can't be easily summed up in a tidy little lesson. But here are a few things that can help.

Emoojis

It's not remotely comprehensive, but here's a fun meme I made with emoojis** to help you remember when you need the subjunctive.

The Ultimate Tool

When you find yourself wondering, "Does ... need the subjunctive?" ask The Subjunctivisor! 😎

Need to Know

You absolutely have to learn when and how to use the subjunctive.*** But sometimes it's ok to avoid it.

* Subjunctive Tenses

The subjunctive is a verb mood, and it has four tenses - though only the first two are used in everyday French. The others are limited to literature and very formal situations.

  1. Present subjunctive

  2. Past subjunctive

  3. Imperfect subjunctive

  4. Pluperfect subjunctive

** Emoojis = mood emojis, 'cuz the subjunctive is a verb mood - get it? 😜

*** Il faut absolument que tu apprennes quand et comment utiliser le subjonctif.

Quiz Time

See how you do with some fill-in-the-blanks quizzes. The first three are on the present subjunctive, the last also includes the past subjunctive.

  1. À la bibliothèque

  2. Préparer les fêtes

  3. Se préparer pour sortir

  4. Changement de programme

Want more? 💪 Take a look at these PwLF super study lists: you can test against them over and over, or save them as notebooks.

  • Subjunctive conjugations

  • Using the subjunctive

Listening Practice

Practice your listening comprehension with these audio articles featuring some subjunctive phrases.

Vacances mémorables B2

Laurence and Arnaud go on a dream vacation to celebrate 5 years together.

J'attends, de Ben Mazué & Pomme C1

Beautiful song about uncertainly in a long-term relationship.

Hommage à Jeanne d'Arc B1

Sing along to the subjunctive song!

Dictées

Challenge yourself by writing or typing what you hear.

Level B2

  • Nouveau passeport

  • Recruter un nouvel employé

  • Vous parlez français depuis longtemps ?

Level C1

  • Un hôtel hors du commun

  • Une routine très précise

  • Tournoi de pétanque

🙋 B1 - B2 - C1 ?

These are 3 of the 6 CEFR proficiency levels.

Writing

Put your knowledge of the subjunctive - and lots of other grammar and vocab - to the test with these translation exercises from Progress with Lawless French.

Level B2

  • A nice table à la française

  • Scary bedtime stories

  • Water damage

Level C1

  • At the water park

  • Coping with the heatwave

  • Dissatisfied customer

Juste pour rigoler

Comic courtesy of Malachi Ray Rempen, ItchyFeetComic.com

💗 Remerciements

Thanks for reading Lawless French à fond - see you in two weeks!

Want to support my work? Buy me a coffee:


📧 Partagez !

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