How do you know when to use the subjunctive?

The thing to always bear in mind about the subjunctive is that it’s a ‘mood’, and therefore is used to express a certain emotion or tone of voice. If the sentence you’re trying to write or translate has an inkling of doubt, fear, joy, uncertainty, bossiness etc, you will probably need the subjunctive.

Annoyingly, if you want to be subjunctive-master-queen-supreme it is something you will just have to develop a feeling for through lots and lots of practice. Luckily, no one is expecting you to be subjunctive-master-queen-supreme in your A-Level exam, and there are a set of rules which will help you determine whether or not you need to use the subjunctive.

There are hundreds of expressions, verbs and conjunctions which trigger the subjunctive, so it helps to split them into themed groups. Then it’s just a question of learning each group by heart! Here’s are my own groups, but you may find it helpful to categorise them in your own way:

1. Impersonal expressions of emotion (e.g. ‘Il est dommage que’), judgement (e.g. ‘Il est honteux que’) or necessity (‘Il faut que’, ‘Il est essential que’).

2. Verbs expressing preference, desire (‘Je veux que’, ‘Je préfère que’)

3. Orders (‘J’ordonne que’)

4. Anything expressing doubt, possibility, supposition, hypothesis (e.g. ‘Il est impossible que’, ‘Il est n’est pas certain que’, ‘Il est douteux que’, ‘Supposons que’)

5. Special conjunctions (‘bien que’, ‘à condition que’)

ANNOYING EXCEPTION TO THE RULE ALERT - ‘J’éspère que’ and ‘Je pense que’/’Je crois que’, despite expressing desire and opinion do not take the subjunctive. Examiners like to try and catch students out on this.

You should concentrate on the most subjunctive triggers that are in popular usage as they are what you’re most likely to be tested on. You can find lists of these in A Level grammar books or on reputable websites such as Tex’s French Grammar and Lawless French and using flashcards/flashcard apps like Quizlet or Memrise to really drill them.

Places to be really vigilant about your use of the subjunctive are in any sections where you will be asked to write in French yourself, be that in an English to French translation or an extended writing task/essay. When doing a translation, you should always be on the lookout for English words and phrases which translate into French subjunctive triggers, such as 'although' (bien que), 'I do not think that' (Je ne pense pas que), 'It is important', and for any extended writing task you should have a bank of your own favourite subjunctive triggers in mind that you know how to use and are 100% take the subjunctive! Try using these same words and phrases in practice essays so you are confident with them, but don't overuse them ( 4 maximum - otherwise your writing won't sound natural) and make sure they actually fit well with what you're saying.

Although we have these rules, you shouldn’t be overly reliant on them and you should try to develop a feel for the subjunctive as far as is possible. You can do this by doing lots of practice exercises, listening to special French podcasts targeted at learners (try News in Slow French) and reading French newspaper articles.