📖LearnModule 11 · Lesson 6 of 30Proficient User · CEFR C1, first halfUnit 2 · Le subjonctif, mastered
Le subjonctif — la nécessité et la volonté
Module 11 of the free French course (CEFR C1, first half), lesson 6 of 30: . On this page: 7 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 6.
The words
French
English
Say it
il faut que
it is necessary that
eel FOH kuh
je veux que
I want (someone) to
zhuh VUH kuh
il est important que
it is important that
eel eh ta(n)-por-TAH(n) kuh
exiger
to demand
eg-zee-ZHAY
le souhait
the wish
luh SWEH
la volonté
the will
lah voh-loh(n)-TAY
que tu viennes
that you come
kuh tew VYEHN
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 subjunctive is not a tense but a MOOD: it lives after what somebody wants, needs or demands. Il faut que tu viennes. Je veux qu'il parte. Il est important que nous soyons à l'heure.
Et aussi · And also
The shape is stable: que + a form built on the ils-stem of the present. Ils parlent gives que je parle; ils finissent gives que je finisse.
Attention · Watch out
The subjunctive is a MOOD, not a tense, built on the ils-stem of the present: ils finissent gives que je finisse. exiger takes que + subjunctive when two people are involved.
parler, subjonctif — the table
je parle · tu parles · il/elle parle · nous parlions · vous parliez · ils/elles parlent
finir, subjonctif — the table
je finisse · tu finisses · il/elle finisse · nous finissions · vous finissiez · ils/elles finissent
Do it now — on paper
Say all 7 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the French spelling alone — begin with il faut que.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the French.
Write out parler, subjonctif and finir, subjonctif 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.