So many students of French are afraid of learning the subjunctive; it’s now time to remove the fear around it! No, the French subjunctive is not hard ; you just need to understand how and when to use it because it doesn’t translate the same as in English (that is the main difficulty). In this episode, I want you to understand the basic rules about using the subjunctive – we’ll practice translating some examples together before exploring deeper. I’ve also prepared a free download with the irregular verbs in the subjunctive to help you.

Vocabulary and Spelling of the French Words mentioned in this episode

Je voudrais dormir = I’d like to sleep.

Je voudrais que mon bébé dorme = I’d like my baby to sleep

Aimer, désirer, vouloir, exiger (to demand), souhaiter, refuser, accepter, avoir envie, avoir besoin

Il aimerait aller en France = He would like to go to France

J’aimerais que nous allions en France = I would like us to go to France

Je n’ai pas envie de finir ma soupe = I don’t feel like finishing my soup.

J’exige que tu finisses ta soupe ! = I demand that you finish your soup !

Il a besoin de comprendre = He needs to understand

Il a besoin que nous comprenions son problème = he needs us to understand his problem

Je voudrais que tu viennes/que vous veniez à ma fête d’anniversaire la semaine prochaine = I’d like you to come to my birthday pary next week

Je n’accepterai pas qu’elle conduise après 3 verres d’acool = I won’t tolerate that she drives after 3 glasses of alcohol

LINKS and RESOURCES

Download free cheat sheet: Subjunctive Irregular Verbs (pdf)

My article “The 7 Most Common French Tenses Made Easy (Recipes)”: http://frenchyourway.com.au/7-common-french-tenses-made-easy-recipes

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