Formation of the French subjunctive (regular)
We will see how to form the subjunctive. We are specifically dealing with the form that is often referred to
as the present subjunctive. But this is in fact the only simple subjunctive form in current use in
contemporary French and we will refer to it here simply as "the subjunctive".
Formation of the subjunctive is generally quite straightforward provided that you know certain other forms
of the verb. It can be summed up as follows:
·
In the nous and vous forms, the subjunctive form is identical to the imperfect for the vast majority
of verbs;
·
Other forms sound identical to the third person plural of the present tense for the vast majority of
verbs, but are spelled with -e(s) in the singular;
·
A very small handful of verbs have irregular forms.
Note that the majority of verbs which are otherwise considered "irregular" are completely regular as far as
the formation of the subjunctive is concerned.
The nous and vous forms
As mentioned, the nous and vous forms of the subjunctive are identical to the imperfect for almost all
verbs. For example:
il ne faut pas que vous dormiez
you mustn't sleep
il ne faut pas que nous le perdions de vue
we mustn't lose sight of him
The other forms (singular and third person plural)
The other forms (je, tu, il, ils) are generally based on the third person plural of the present tense of the verb
in question. In the spoken language, they sound identical. In the written language, the difference is that
instead of -ent, the forms end in -e(s) in the singular. (The -s is added in the tu form, just like it is in any
other tense.) So that gives forms such as the following:
Verb
3rd plural present
Subjunctive forms
form
je dorme
tu dormes
dormir
(ils) dorment
il dorme
ils dorment
je conduise
tu conduises
conduire (ils) conduisent
il conduise
ils conduisent
je finisse
tu finisses
finir
(ils) finissent
il finisse
ils finissent
je prenne
tu prennes
prendre (ils) prennent
il prenne
ils prennent