📖LearnModule 8 · Lesson 11 of 30Independent User · CEFR B2, first halfUnit 3 · Le subjonctif étendu
Emotion takes the subjunctive
Module 8 of the free French course (CEFR B2, first half), lesson 11 of 30: Feeling about something someone else does is the second great subjunctive trigger. 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 11.
The words
French
English
Say it
je suis content que
I am glad that
zhuh swee koh(n)-TAH(n) kuh
j'ai peur que
I am afraid that
zhay PUHR kuh
c'est dommage que
it is a shame that
seh doh-MAHZH kuh
je regrette que
I am sorry that
zhuh ruh-GREHT kuh
je suis surpris que
I am surprised that
zhuh swee sewr-PREE kuh
l'émotionfeminine — the article elides to l'
the emotion
lay-moh-SYOH(n)
le sentiment
the feeling
luh sah(n)-tee-MAH(n)
étonnant
astonishing
ay-toh-NAH(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
Feeling about something someone else does is the second great subjunctive trigger. Je suis content que tu viennes, j'ai peur qu'il soit trop tard, c'est dommage que vous ne puissiez pas rester.
Et aussi · And also
The list is long but the pattern is one: an emotion word, then que, then a DIFFERENT person. If the person is the same, the infinitive returns: je suis content de venir.
Attention · Watch out
Emotion + que + a DIFFERENT person takes the subjunctive: je suis content que tu viennes. The same person takes de + infinitive: je suis content de venir.
venir, subjonctif — the table
je vienne · tu viennes · il/elle vienne · nous venions · vous veniez · ils/elles viennent
Do it now — on paper
Say all 8 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the French spelling alone — begin with je suis content que.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the French.
Write out venir, 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.