When is the subjunctive tense required in French?

The French subjunctive tense/mood is required when expressing cases of doubt, necessity or emotion. For example, "Je veux que tu gagnes" (I hope that you win), "Il faut que tu sois à l'heure" (You need to be on time/It is necessary that you're on time) and "J'ai peur qu'il ne vienne pas" (I'm afraid that he won't come) are all examples of when the subjunctive is required. However, it is important that you remember that verb constructions ending with 'que' that relate to time e.g. "dès que", "après que", and "tandis que" are followed by the INDICATIVE and not the subjunctive, even though they too end with 'que'.

GW
Answered by Georgia W. French tutor

1740 Views

See similar French A Level tutors

Related French A Level answers

All answers ▸

I'm very nervous about the speaking exam - I'm afraid that I won't know what to talk about as it's not an easy paper to revise. How do I go about handling mental blocks during the exam?


How do you differentiate between the perfect tense and the imperfect tense?


Expliquez le problème du réchauffement climatique.


How do you structure an essay in French?


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2026 by IXL Learning