Six of the most common ways to use the subjunctive in French - Everyday French

The French subjunctive is a biiiig topic and something that learners spend way too much time on trying to learn before using it. In this video I share 6 of the most common ways to use the subjunctive in French based on my day-to-day life.

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Video sections:
0:00 Intro
2:04 Il faut que
3:24 Être content que
4:14 Aimer que
5:04 Pour que
6:23 Être important que
7:14 Être normal que

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[HeidiButkus]

C’est normal que = It’s very understandable.  Or “It’s not a problem, it’s fine.”
That’s my take on it anyway!
Thanks Alex, for this video! I think that giving examples of specific phrases that trigger the subjunctive is very useful!

[CheetahBoy-gxdx]

J'aime que tes vidéos soient faciles à comprendre. Il faut que j'en regarde plus !

[yohanannatanson]

A remembrance of school days, this poem by Apollinaire :
"Vienne la nuit, sonne l'heure
Les jours s'en vont, je demeure..."
(Le pont Mirabeau)
Where "vienne", et "sonne" are both subjonctifs, with "que" implied...
Well... Probably not very useful, unless you want to look well read at a dinner...😊

[elizabethgeaney]

It helps me to think of "IL FAUT QUE" as "IT IS NECESSARY THAT"

[JulietRichards-hdnv]

I have been avoiding the subjunctive because I thought it was just another whole conjugation to remember but this was super helpful and I now feel like it is manageable! THANK YOU! :)

[marisrog]

C'est normal que j'aime tes videos, tu es genial et humble

[cefnonn]

L'imparfait du subjonctif, s'il vous plaît. That would be super interesting.

[kendrapaleczny]

Could you please do a video explaining how to use 'il s'agit de' / 's'agir' ? It's so confusing :(

[tejasgaming]

j'espère que tu fasses un video sur le sujet des connecteurs bientôt

[suzieroyall]

il faut que je regarde vos videos tous les jours, vous étes un trop bon prof, merci beaucoup et bonne anneé

[BGTuyau]

Another nice presentation by Alex, shedding light on some of the grammatical corners of the mysterious [for English speakers] subjonctif. As a longtime learner and speaker of French as a foreign language, I don't think it would be a mistake to mix in more of the reasoning behind its use. Good that there was some —but an understanding of the reasons behind the use of this "mood" can facilitate the development of an instinctual facility with its use. Bonne continuation à tous ...

[wardenblack]

Excellent stuff! These videos are so informative. I always learn something new and interesting!

[ollieflj]

« C’est normal » c’est le pareil que « it’s understandable » en anglais? Et « c’est normal que » est le même que « it’s understandable that... » ?

[FrenchinPlainSight]

Edit: I have since found out that the subjunctive can come up without "que" but it's only in rare cases!


What's your best attempt at using the subjunctive?

[srigowritn]

Hi nice video 😊. Please tell me how to tell the students the difference between il faut que and it est necessaire que? Wherein in the first case we should use subjonctif. But not with - il est que.

[Qbe_Root]

Ackchually, phrases like "Dieu soit loué" use subjunctive without "que", but yeah those are pretty rare and "que" shows up before a subjunctive 99.9% of the time.
A common thing between all the ways you presented is that they can all be used with infinitive, sometimes introduced with "de": "Il faut faire le ménage", "Je suis content de partir en vacances", "J'aime me balader en forêt", "Afin de protéger le monde de la dévastation", "C'est important de garder son sang-froid", "C'est normal de ne pas savoir". Infinitive doesn't have a subject so it has to be implied from context, but subjunctive allows you to give a different subject. I'm not sure if that's true for all uses of subjunctive, I never thought about it that way before, but the only counter-example I can think of is "après que" which is followed by indicative, and even then most people use subjunctive anyway.

[paulscott]

J'adore Paris que ce soit au printemps ou en automne.

[davidboyle]

Do you have any ideas please for an immersive stay in France to improve my spoken french without breaking the bank
? Volunteering??
Problem too much info on the internet and not all good.
Thankyou

[jaydu]

Il faudrait que
Je ne pense pas que
Je ne trouve pas que are good common triggers too!!

[ConnieCC]

“C’est normal” — is it kind of like “It’s a given” or “It goes without saying”? And if so, is it similar to the expression “Il va de soi que . . .”? Thank you Alex!!