French subjunctive for English speakers

Finally — an easier way to learn (and master) the French subjunctive for English speakers!

If you’re an English speaker, you might have trouble using the French subjunctive. It comes up a lot in the comments on Comme une Française!

Today, let's discover this piece of French grammar in more detail, so you can master it once and for all.

Take care and stay safe.
😘 from Grenoble, France.

Géraldine

[nikkibray]

I have been learning french for 5 months now independently and until now had just decided to ignore the subjunctive! Thanks for this lesson.

[colabus]

One of the problems when teaching the french subjunctive is that most teacher don’t realise that the subjunctive exists in english. Once you get your head around that it is easier to learn the french.

[gusinfante]

Portuguese subjunctive: hold my 2 beers 😂

[marieroslind]

Thank you very much for this very clear lesson! Subjonctif is difficult for all non-French speaking persons, I think... This was very clarifying! Thank’s a lot!

[jklasdfljkadfsjkl]

I agree that it is not maybe worth too much time to learn to USE the subjuctif, but if you are reading or listening often in french, the irregular verb stems are so unusual that not really being familiar with them holds back comprehension. Worth a couple of hours in the life to learn to recognize them in context like this. Great video merci!

[johnfdm]

We use the subjunctive in English, too, but a lot of people don't even realize they're using it. "I suggested that he leave, " for instance, is subjunctive. (It often goes hand-in-hand with "that" in English just as it does in French (and Italian, Spanish, etc.). Also, as with other languages, English uses the subjunctive for wishing something to be so (occasions on which we might otherwise use the weird verb "may"), as in "long live the king" ("Vive la France!" for instance, is subjunctive), and in ceremonial or reverential occasions (e.g., "the Lord be with you"). I never understood what "till death do us part" means until I learned about the subjunctive case. "So be it" is also subjunctive, which I mention because its French counterpart, "soit!" is one of the exceptional cases in French in which the final "t" in a word is pronounced (sounds just like "swat" in English).

[johnstonewall]

Where were you when I first started learning French 60 years ago!! I regret to confess that when I use 'il faut que' I know that the subjunctive is needed but munbling gets me out of many difficulties!

[atransstar]

Merci beaucoup pour avoir réalisé cette vidéo. Elle a rendu le subjonctif français beaucoup plus facile à comprendre. J'ai beaucoup appris grâce à cette vidéo.

[BigOilerFan]

Very nice explanation of a difficult concept to English speakers.

[jemesutton]

Géraldine, j'adore les souvenirs mexicains au fond, super!

[dancleary]

Thank you Géraldine! You are always so happy and upbeat! Thanks for your lessons. :-)

[jdryak]

Excellent channel! So many thanks for all your efforts to promote this wonderful language!

[bompykaushal]

Salut, madame! Il me tarde de regarder votre vidéo!( J'ai hâte de)
Au revoir!

[Books_Anime_]

When I was taking French in college we didn't get to the subjunctif and I was interested in learning this conjugation and how to use it. Thank you for posting this video. I am going to have to watch it more than once to get the hang of it.

[christineyee]

J'aime beaucoup faire le quiz orale! Très utile.

[timobreumelhof]

I have to say after watching 5 videos your's is the clearest explanation of this complicated subject. You also convinced me I better just ignore it and spend my energy on other parts of learning French for now. Thank you. :-)

[susanbartone]

Thank you for a great lesson! You are a great and supportive teacher.

[patriciaitalia]

Thank you so much for making these videos. Your are a great teacher. Your explanations and encouragement give me hope.

[BruceM]

Merci, Géraldine ! Ce vidéo est très utile et pratique.

[dannyv]

Wow this was really helpful. I just got to the subjunctive and wasn't getting it too well until your video. Thank you!