📖LearnModule 8 · Lesson 15 of 30Independent User · CEFR B2, first halfUnit 3 · Le subjonctif étendu
After the only and the best
Module 8 of the free French course (CEFR B2, first half), lesson 15 of 30: One more 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 15.
The words
French
English
Say it
le meilleur film que j'aie vu
the best film I have seen
luh may-yuhr feelm kuh zhay VEW
la seule personne qui puisse
the only person who can
lah suhl pehr-sun kee PWEES
le superlatif
the superlative
luh sew-pehr-lah-TEEF
le jugement
the judgment
luh zhewzh-MAH(n)
aider
to help
eh-DAY
le premier
the first one
luh pruh-MYAY
le dernier
the last one
luh dehr-NYAY
remarquable
remarkable
ruh-mahr-KAHBL
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
One more trigger, and it surprises people: a superlative or a word like seul, premier, dernier followed by a relative clause. C'est le meilleur film que j'aie vu — the subjunctive marks the claim as a judgment rather than a fact.
Et aussi · And also
C'est la seule personne qui puisse nous aider — she is the only person who can help us. Compare with a plain relative: je connais une personne qui peut nous aider. The mood carries the difference; the words do not.
Attention · Watch out
After a superlative or seul, premier, dernier + a relative clause, the subjunctive appears: le meilleur film que j'aie vu. A plain relative keeps the indicative: un film que j'ai vu.
pouvoir, subjonctif — the table
je puisse · tu puisses · il/elle puisse · nous puissions · vous puissiez · ils/elles puissent
Do it now — on paper
Say all 8 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the French spelling alone — begin with le meilleur film que j'aie vu.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the French.
Write out pouvoir, 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.