📖LearnModule 7 · Lesson 2 of 30Independent User · CEFR B1, completedUnit 1 · Il faut que — the subjunctive opens
Wanting, wishing, preferring
Module 7 of the free French course (CEFR B1, completed), lesson 2 of 30: . 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 2.
The words
French
English
Say it
je veux que tu finisses
I want you to finish
zhuh vuh kuh tew fee-NEES
vouloir
to want
voo-LWAHR
j'aimerais que
I would like (that)
zheh-muh-REH kuh
je préfère que
I prefer that
zhuh pray-FEHR kuh
souhaiter
to wish
sweh-TAY
le souhait
the wish
luh SWEH
la volonté
the will
lah voh-loh(n)-TAY
exiger
to demand
eg-zee-ZHAY
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 door into the subjunctive is the will of one person aimed at another. Je veux que tu finisses: I want you to finish. English uses an infinitive there; French cannot, and insists on que plus the subjunctive.
Et aussi · And also
The same shape carries the softer versions: j'aimerais que (I would like), je préfère que (I prefer that), je souhaite que (I wish that). Notice the two different people — I want, YOU finish. That is the whole condition.
Attention · Watch out
je veux que tu finisses has TWO people: I want, you finish. With one person there is no que and no subjunctive: je veux finir.
vouloir — the table
je veux · tu veux · il/elle veut · nous voulons · vous voulez · ils/elles veulent
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 8 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the French spelling alone — begin with je veux que tu finisses.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the French.
Write out vouloir 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.