Usage of subjunctive present
The subjunctive traditionally expresses a wish, a desire, an order, a doubt, a counsel or a supposition. It is an action not realized at the moment of expression. Most of the time, these verbs are found in a subordinate proposition introduced by the conjunction "que" or "what". In order to respect the concordance of times, when the main proposition is in the present indicative, we use the present subjunctive in the subordinate clause.
Il faut qu'il aille le voir.
Je souhaite qu'il vienne m'en parler.
Qu'il soit prêt à l'heure !
Quoi que tu fasses, ce sera parfait.
The endings of subjunctive present
At subjunctive present, all verbs (except "avoir" and "être") have the same endings: -e, -es, -e, -ions, -iez, -ent. The verbs of the 2nd group have a -ss- which is added between radical and the ending.
Note that for the verbs of the first group and the verbs of the third group in -ir, the three persons of the singular as well as the third person of the plural are identical to that of the present of the indicative. For the first and second persons of the plural, the endings are identical to those of the imperfect indicative.
For the other verbs, the radical is often different to the subjunctive present in relation to the present of the indicative (je le sais / il faut qu'il le sache). Often the first two people of the plural are the same with the imperfect indicative. Finally, in the majority of cases, the third person plural is identical with the present indicative.
Here are the endings of subjunctive present:
| Person | Verbs of the 1st group | Verbs of the 2nd group | Verbs of the 3rd group |
|---|---|---|---|
| que je | radical + e | radical + isse | radical + e |
| que tu | radical + es | radical + isses | radical + es |
| qu'il/elle/on | radical + e | radical + isse | radical + e |
| que nous | radical + ions | radical + issions | radical + ions |
| que vous | radical + iez | radical + issiez | radical + iez |
| qu'ils/elles | radical + ent | radical + issent | radical + ent |
| Person | jouer | obéir | rire |
|---|---|---|---|
| que je | joue | obéisse | rie |
| que tu | joues | obéisses | ries |
| qu'il/elle/on | joue | obéisse | rie |
| que nous | jouions | obéissions | riions |
| que vous | jouiez | obéissiez | riiez |
| qu'ils/elles | jouent | obéissent | rient |
- With "nous" and "vous" for some verbs, there are two consecutive i linked to the ending: que nous réfugiions
- For some verbs of the 1st group, there are the same changes of radical in front of a dumb e: il faut que j'appelle, il faut que tu achètes
- Verbs of the 2nd group have a -ss- added between radical and endings: que je finisse
- Be careful not to mix subjunctive present and indicative present: "je vois/je pars" and "il faut que je voie/parte"
- "Avoir" and "être" are irregular.
| Person | avoir | être |
|---|---|---|
|
que je que tu qu'il que nous que vous qu'ils |
aie aies ait ayons ayez aient |
sois sois soit soyons soyez soient |
- On subjunctive present, all verbs (except "avoir" and "être") have the same endings: -e, -es, -e, -ions, -iez, -ent
- Verbs of the 2nd group have a -ss- which is added before the ending: que je choisisse.
- "Avoir" and "être" are irregular and thus to know by heart.