📖LearnModule 8 · Lesson 13 of 30Independent User · CEFR B2, first halfUnit 3 · Le subjonctif étendu
The negated opinion
Module 8 of the free French course (CEFR B2, first half), lesson 13 of 30: Je pense qu'il a raison uses the indicative — you are asserting it. 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
je pense qu'il a raison
I think he is right
zhuh pah(n)s keel ah reh-ZOH(n)
je ne pense pas qu'il ait raison
I do not think he is right
zhuh nuh pah(n)s pah keel eh reh-ZOH(n)
affirmer
to assert
ah-feer-MAY
nier
to deny
nyay
la nuance
the shade of meaning
lah new-AH(n)S
le sens
the meaning
luh SAH(n)S
soutenir une idée
to stand behind an idea
soo-tuh-neer ewn ee-DAY
prudemment
cautiously
prew-dah-MAH(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
Je pense qu'il a raison uses the indicative — you are asserting it. Je ne pense pas qu'il ait raison uses the subjunctive, because negating the opinion puts the fact in doubt. Same verb, two moods, two different claims.
Et aussi · And also
A question does the same: penses-tu qu'il ait raison? Choosing the mood is not decoration here; it tells your reader how much you are standing behind the clause.
Attention · Watch out
je pense qu'il a raison (indicative) asserts it; je ne pense pas qu'il ait raison (subjunctive) doubts it. The negative moves the mood.
avoir, subjonctif — the table
je aie · tu aies · il/elle ait · nous ayons · vous ayez · ils/elles aient
Do it now — on paper
Say all 8 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the French spelling alone — begin with je pense qu'il a raison.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the French.
Write out avoir, 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.