Forming the present subjunctive of -er verbs
To form the stem of the present subjunctive you take the infinitive and chop off -er, just as for the present tense. Then you add the correct ending, depending on whether you are referring to je, tu, il, elle, on, nous, vous, ils or elles.
For -er verbs the endings are the same as for the ordinary present tense, apart from the nous and vous forms, which have an extra i, as in the imperfect tense.
| Pronoun | Ending | Add to stem, e.g. donn- |
Meanings |
| je (j’) | -e | je donne | I give |
| tu | -es | tu donnes | you give |
| il | -e | il donne | he/she/it/one gives |
| elle | elle donne | ||
| on | on donne | ||
| nous | -ions | nous donnions | we give |
| vous | -iez | vous donniez | you give |
| ils | -ent | ils donnent | they give |
| elles | elles donnent | ||
Il faudrait que nous donnions des renseignements précis.
We must give precise information.
J’attends que tu changes la roue. I’m waiting for you to change the tyre.
J’aimerais que vous arrêtiez de faire du bruit.
I’d like you to stop making a noise.
Forming the present subjunctive of -ir verbs
To form the stem of the present subjunctive you take the infinitive and chop off -ir, just as for the present tense. Then you add the correct ending, depending on whether you are referring to to je, tu, il, elle, on, nous, vous, ils or elles.
| Pronoun | Ending | Add to stem, e.g. fin- |
Meanings |
| je (j’) | -isse | je finisse | I finish |
| tu | -isses | tu finisses | you finish |
| il | -isse | il finisse | he/she/it/one finishes |
| elle | elle finisse | ||
| on | on finisse | ||
| nous | -issions | nous finissions | we finish |
| vous | -issiez | vous finissiez | you finish |
| ils | -issent | ils finissent | they finish |
| elles | elles finissent | ||
Ils refusent que vous finissiez plus tôt ce soir.
They refuse to let you finish earlier tonight.
Je voudrais qu’ils réfléchissent à ce problème.
I want them to give this problem some thought.
Nous voulons que tu choisisses ce qui te plaît.
We want you to choose what you like.
Forming the present subjunctive of -re verbs
To form the stem of the present subjunctive you take the infinitive and chop off -re, just as for the present tense. Then you add the correct ending, depending on whether you are referring to je, tu, il, elle, on, nous, vous, ils or elles.
| Pronoun | Ending | Add to stem, e.g. attend- |
Meanings |
| je (j’) | -e | j’attende | I wait |
| tu | -es | tu attendes | you wait |
| il | -e | il attende | he/she/it/one waits |
| elle | elle attende | ||
| on | on attende | ||
| nous | -ions | nous attendions | we wait |
| vous | -iez | vous attendiez | you wait |
| ils | -ent | ils attendent | they wait |
| elles | elles attendent |
Je ne veux pas que tu m’attendes dans le froid.
I don’t want you to wait for me in the cold.
Il souhaite que nous vendions la maison.
He would like us to sell the house.
Il faut que nous descendions dans la cour pour les voir.
We have to go down to the playground to see them.