INTRODUCTION

The subjunctive tends to cause students a lot of confusion and stress, which is understandable to some degree. While it exists in English, it is not quite as marked as it is in French. The phrase ‘It is important that you be there’ uses the subjunctive, but it may not be immediately obvious because the form resembles that of the simple present. It is more marked in French where it has a completely different conjugation pattern. For example, the sentence ‘Il est important que tu sois là’ (It is important that you be there) is in the subjunctive. Here there is a clear difference between the subjunctive ‘tu sois’ and the indicative ‘tu es’.

The subjunctive is a mood just like the indicative. It is primarily used to express uncertainty and doubt but can also express wishes and desires. It is almost always preceded by ‘que’; in a handful of cases, it is preceded by ‘qui’, and sometimes by neither.

It may help to think of the subjunctive as the expression of uncertainty or doubt regarding the realisation of an action and the expression of subjective experiences (emotions, hopes, wishes, etc.). Not all usage fits neatly within these parameters, but it will help in most cases.

CONJUGATION PATTERN

As with all moods and tenses, the subjunctive has a distinctive conjugation pattern. Regular ‘er’ verbs (e.g. marcher, aimer, jouer, etc.) don’t show as much variation as other verb groups, so they often look the same as the indicative depending on the grammatical person (1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd person singular or ‘je’, ‘tu’ and ‘il/elle’ forms all look more or less identical). The examples below illustrate these variations:

Example 1

Il aime marcher à l’ école tous les matins – He likes walking to school every morning

‘Aimer’ is a regular ‘er’ verb and is used here in what we call the present tense of the indicative.

Elle est surprise qu’il aime marcher à l’ école tous les matins – She is surprised that he likes walking to school every morning

‘Aimer’ here is now in the present tense of the subjunctive, but looks exactly the same as the indicative form

Example 2

Est-ce que tu viens à la réunion ce soir ? – Are you coming to the meeting tonight ?

‘Venir’ is an irregular ‘ir’ verb and is used here in the present tense of the indicative.

Il est important que tu viennes à la réunion ce soir – It is important that you come to the meeting tonight

‘Venir’ here is now in the present tense of the subjunctive, and looks quite different from the indicative form

EXPRESSIONS WHICH ALWAYS USE THE SUBJUNCTIVE

There are quite a few expressions which are always employed with the subjunctive. They include:

 à moins que (unless), de peur que/avoir peur que (for fear that/to be afraid that), afin que (so that), pour que (so that, in order that), à condition que(provided that, with the proviso that), pourvu que (provided that, as long as), vouloir que (to want), bien que (even though, although), quoique (like ‘bien que’), de crainte que (for fear that), quoi que (whatever), falloir que (to be necessary), avant que (before), en attendant que (while waiting for), jusqu’à ce que (until), où que (wherever), sans que (without, unless), souhaiter que (wish that, want that), aimer que (same as ‘souhaiter que’; usually employed in the conditional), éxiger que (to require, to demand), être + adjective + que (for example, être content(e) que, être surpris(e) que, être triste que, etc.), avoir besoin que (to need)

It is worth noting that ‘que’ is used to introduce a clause (for example, ‘his father works too much’ is a clause in the sentence ‘He thinks that his father works too much’). This means a sentence cannot end with ‘que’ because it will have an incomplete meaning. Therefore, all the expressions above need to be followed by a clause (which will contain a verb).

While ‘que’ can generally be translated as ‘that’, sometimes it means other things and at times it cannot be translated at all. While ‘that’ can almost always be omitted without affecting the grammaticality of a sentence in English, ‘que’ is always needed.

The examples below will illustrate these variations (the subjunctive is underlined, while the corresponding infinitive form is placed in brackets at the end of the sentence).

Je veux que tu fasses la vaisselle (faire) – I want you to do the dishes [‘que’ cannot be translated directly]

Bien que l’Internet soit utile, il constitue une menace pour notre santé (être) – Even though the Internet can be useful, it poses a threat to our health [‘que’ cannot be translated directly]

Ma mère me permet de sortir à condition que je revienne avant minuit (revenir) – My mother allows me to go out provided (that) I return before midnight [‘that’ can be omitted here without loss of meaning]

Embarrassing mistakes and how to avoid (or at least rectify) them

Meet Jan and Edna, who are out picnicking with their families on a bright summer afternoon. Jan has just introduced Edna to the new brand of jam she is using and can’t stop raving about.

Edna: Cette confiture est le comble! Tu l’as trouvée où?

Jan: En fait, c’est le petit magasin qui a ouvert dans le coin. C’est top, non?

Edna: C’est le meilleur!

Jan: Et en plus c’est sans préservatifs!

Edna gives Jan a puzzled look, then bursts out laughing.

This is because ‘préservatif’ is the French word for ‘condom’. This trap is what we call a ‘faux amis’ (false friend) because while both words look similar, they have different origins and meanings. The correct way of saying ‘preservative’ in French is ‘conservateur’ (from the verb conserver which means to keep).

So, Jan should have said: Et en plus, c’est sans conservateurs!

Edna’s reaction, then, is quite understandable. Although I’m sure we would all be relieved to find out our food is free of contraceptive devices.

Learn who your real French friends are

Today’s faux amis is the word ‘lecture’. In English, this word denotes a class normally taken at university, where students sit in rows and listen while a professor delivers content verbally. It can also mean to speak to someone at length in a reproving manner.

In French, the word ‘lecture’ (pronounced like ‘confiture’ and other words ending in ‘-ture’) is a feminine noun which means reading. It refers to the physical act of perusing a book or other literary work. For example, you may have been taught to say ‘J’aime la lecture’ (I like reading) when discussing your interests in conversation class.

‘Lecture’ as it refers to a class in English is translated as cours magistral in French (cours magistraux plural).

E.g. J’ai un cours magistral à midi – I have a lecture at noon

Lecture and la lecture are what we call false cognates. This means they have the same spelling, but different etymologies (linguistic origins) and meanings. By contrast, true cognates are words which have the same spelling, origin and meaning. For example, ‘danger’ in French means the same thing as the English word ‘danger’.

The most common way of expressing possession in both English and French is to use possessive adjectives (mine, yours, his, etc.). In French, there are two other ways of expressing possession/ownership:

• Using the verb ‘appartenir’ (the syntax is ‘appartenir à qn’ – to belong to someone)

Exemple 1: Le livre appartient à Mark – The book belongs to Marc (The book is Marc’s)

Exemple 2: À qui appartient ce portable? – Who does this phone belong to? (Whose phone is this?)

Because of the syntax ‘appartenir à qn’, the ‘à qn‘ part can be replaced with an indirect object pronoun. If we apply an IOP to the first example, we get ‘Le livre lui appartient’ (The book belongs to him).

• Using the verb ‘être’ + à

Exemple 1: Le livre est à Mark – The book belongs to Marc (The book is Marc’s)

Exemple 2: À qui appartient ce portable? | C’est à moi – Whose phone is this? | It’s mine

‘Appartenir’ is used more in formal contexts, while ‘être’ is used in more everyday contexts. However, the two expressions are more or less the same and can be used interchangeably.

Where in English possession is expressed using an apostrophe followed by the letter ‘s’, the French use the preposition ‘de’. Let’s look at some examples:

Exemple 1: My mother’s friends always drink when they come over – Les amis de ma mère boivent toujours quand elles la rendent visite (literally “the friends of my mother”)

Rather than use the -‘s form of a noun (this is called a clitic), the French use ‘de’ (of), as in ‘the friends of my mother’. The clitic does not exist in French; there is no such thing as “ma mère’s amis”.

Exemple 2: She likes to make snacks for her neighbours’ kids – Elle aime faire des collations* pour les enfants de ses voisins. (literally “the kids of her neighbours“)

*”collation“, a feminine noun, is the French equivalent of afternoon tea