Explain the meaning of the subjunctive mood and give some examples of when it is used

The subjunctive mood in French is deployed where a particular utterance indicates a certain attitude or opinion on behalf of the speaker. The subjunctive mood is deployed mostly in situations of doubt or uncertainty. For example, the phrase 'Je suis certain que je suis le meilleur joueur' requires the indicative tense because the preceding phrase indicates a sense of certainty on behalf of the speaker. There is no doubt implied. However, if that phrase is negated and becomes 'je ne suis pas certain que je sois le meilleur joueur,' the subjunctive conjugation for the verb 'être' is required because the speaker is now uncertain. . The subjunctive may be required depending on a particular sentiment of the speaker. This includes longing or desire (je veux que...), regret (quel dommage...) and fear (j'ai peur que...). The subjunctive is commonly used with certain constructions indicative of disbelief or denial (je nie que...) or refusal (je refuse que...). Whilst the indicative tense is normally required for verbs of thinking and believing such as croire and penser, the subjunctive is required when these verbs are either questioned (Penses-tu que...) or negated (je ne pense pas que...) as a level of uncertainty becomes apparent.There are a number of other situations in French where the subjunctive mood is required, and it may be useful to simply memorise these rules. The subjunctive can be required in cases where a certain goal or achievement is implied such as phrases like 'afin que' and 'pour que'. For example: 'je lui ai acheté plusieurs livres afin qu'il réussisse. I bought him several books so that he succeeds.' The desired, but not guaranteed, outcome of the action here is that the boy will succeed after the speaker has bought him some books, thus the subjunctive mood is required. The subjunctive may also be used with certain temporal phrases and phrases of condition of hypothesis. However these do have exceptions. Whilst the temporal phrase 'avant que' requires the subjunctive, the phrase 'après que' takes the indicative. In terms of situations of condition, the subjunctive is normally deployed with phrases such as 'pourvu que' and 'à condition que'. Similarly, the subjunctive is normally always required with phrases of obligation such as 'il est important que.' A widely used construction in French and one which always requires the subjunctive is the phrase 'il faut que' (one must/it is necessary to). For example, in the phrase, 'il faut que je fasse mes devoirs' the subjunctive conjugation of the irregular verb 'faire' is required as the utterance indicates a sense of obligation (or a demand) on behalf of the speaker.