French grammar
Conjugate verbs in the subjunctive tenses in French
Although it is not vital for
communication,
the subjunctive mood is used, and should be used, in a number
of everyday grammatical contexts. It is used in everyday
language
in two tenses, the present and the perfect (or composite past); uses of
other subjunctive tenses are nowadays confined to very literary,
refined, stilted or administrative French.
► For
uses and examples of verbs in the subjunctive, see Examples
1. Forms: the subjunctive tenses
| Tenses (subjunctive) : regular verbs in -er | |||
| Person | Present (may love may be loving |
Perfect
or past
(parfait) (may have loved) |
Imperfect
/
preterite (might love) |
| 1st singular. | j'aime | j'aie aimé | j'aimasse |
| 2nd singular | tu aimes | tu aies aimé | tu aimasses |
| 3rd singular | il, elle... aime | il ait aimé | il aimât |
| 1st plural | nous aimions | nous ayons aimé | nous aimassions |
| 2nd plural | vous aimiez | vous ayez aimé | vous aimassiez |
| 3rd plural | ils aiment | ils aient aimé | ils aimassent |
| Notes | (very rare) | ||
| Tenses (subjunctive) : regular verbs in -ir | |||
| Person | Present (may finish may be finishing |
Perfect
or past
(parfait) (may have finished) |
Imperfect /
preterite (might finish) |
| 1st singular. | j'finisse | j'aie finis | je finisse |
| 2nd singular | tu finisses | tu aies finis | tu finisses |
| 3rd singular | il, elle... finisse | il ait finis | il finît |
| 1st plural | nous finissions | nous ayons finis | nous finissassions |
| 2nd plural | vous finissiez | vous ayez finis | vous finissassiez |
| 3rd plural | ils finissent | ils aient finis | ils finissent |
| Notes | (very rare) | ||
| Tenses (subjunctive) : regular group 3 verbs like vendre | |||
| Person | Present (may sell may be selling |
Perfect
or past (parfait) (may have sold) |
Imperfect /
preterite (might sell) |
| 1st singular. | je vende | j'aie vendu | je vendisse |
| 2nd singular | tu vendes | tu aies vendu | tu vendisses |
| 3rd singular | il, elle... vende | il ait vendu | il vendît |
| 1st plural | nous vendions | nous ayons vendu | nous vendissions |
| 2nd plural | vous vendiez | vous ayez vendu | vous vendissiez |
| 3rd plural | ils vendent | ils aient vendu | ils vendissent |
| Notes | (very rare) | ||
The
examples above are for regular
verbs. Irregular verbs frequently follow the same patterns, but may
need to be learned individually, except for the perfect or past tense
which is valid for all verbs.
See individual conjugation pages for subjunctive forms of être or of avoir.
Passive subjunctive tenses exist too; they are formed using the appropriate subjunctive tense of the auxiliary être, instead of the indicative form used for notmal indicative passive tenses:
Example: Aimer
See individual conjugation pages for subjunctive forms of être or of avoir.
Passive subjunctive tenses exist too; they are formed using the appropriate subjunctive tense of the auxiliary être, instead of the indicative form used for notmal indicative passive tenses:
Example: Aimer
| Tenses (subjunctive) : | |||
| Person | Present (may be loved |
Perfect
(parfait) (may have beenloved) |
imperfect
/
preterit (may have been loved) |
| 1st singular. | je sois aimé | j'aie été aimé | je fusse aimé |
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