📖LearnModule 10 · Lesson 13 of 30Independent User · CEFR B1 + B2 mastery, and the C1 bridgeUnit 3 · Le subjonctif, la carte complète
Subjonctif ou infinitif ?
Module 10 of the free French course (CEFR B1 + B2 mastery, and the C1 bridge), lesson 13 of 30: The second test is arithmetic: count the people. On this page: 8 words with their genders and respellings, the rule, a watch-out line, the conjugation table and the audio — the study notes behind the workbook's lesson 13.
The words
French
English
Say it
avant de partir
before leaving
ah-vah(n) duh pahr-TEER
sans rien dire
without saying anything
sah(n) rya(n) DEER
compter les sujets
to count the subjects
koh(n)-tay lay sew-ZHEH
l'arithmétiquefeminine — the article elides to l'
the arithmetic
lah-reet-may-TEEK
identique
identical
ee-dah(n)-TEEK
différent
different
dee-fay-RAH(n)
supprimer une erreur
to remove a mistake
sew-pree-may ewn eh-RUHR
moitié moins
half as many
mwah-tyay MWA(n)
Respellings follow the course’s say-it key; the stressed syllable is in capitals. Print this lesson’s flashcards (PDF) — the words on the front, the English and respelling on the back.
Hear the words
Each word is read twice — say it back in the gap. Computer-generated voice; credits on the course page.
La règle · The rule
The second test is arithmetic: count the people. One person means the infinitive; two means que plus the subjunctive. Je veux partir. Je veux que tu partes.
Et aussi · And also
The same applies to the conjunctions: avant de partir (one person) against avant que tu partes (two). Getting this right removes half the subjunctives most learners write, and all the wrong ones.
Attention · Watch out
One person: infinitive. Two people: que + subjunctive. The rule holds for conjunctions too: avant de partir (one) against avant que tu partes (two).
partir — the table
je pars · tu pars · il/elle part · nous partons · vous partez · ils/elles partent
Do it now — on paper
Say all 8 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the French spelling alone — begin with avant de partir.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the French.
Write out partir in full from memory, every person, and check each form against the table above.
This free course is the reading half. The writing half — write-in lessons, daily practice pages with built-in review, self-checks and a full answer key — is the companion workbook series, The French Ladder: one workbook per module, fifteen in all, released band by band with the Basic band (Modules 1–5) first.
Keep these words
Turn this lesson’s words into flashcards, then space your reviews — the two habits the research behind our study guides backs hardest.