When do you use the subjunctive in French?
Use the subjunctive after expressions of necessity, wish, emotion, doubt and certain conjunctions — the trigger sits in the first clause, before que, not in the verb itself. If the first clause asserts something as fact, use the indicative; if it colours the second clause with wanting, doubting or reacting, use the subjunctive.
The trigger comes before que
You decide the mood by looking at what precedes que, not at the verb you are about to conjugate. Il faut que, je veux que, bien que and avant que always take the subjunctive. Je sais que, je pense que and il est clair que take the indicative because they assert.
Il faut que tu viennes.
You have to come.
Necessity — always subjunctive.
Je veux qu'il parte.
I want him to leave.
Bien qu'il pleuve, on sort.
Although it's raining, we're going out.
Bien que takes it even though the rain is a fact.
Negation and questions can flip it
Penser and croire take the indicative when affirmative and often the subjunctive when negated or questioned, because the assertion disappears. This is one of the few places where the same verb switches mood depending on the sentence around it.
Je pense qu'il est là.
I think he's there.
Indicative — asserted.
Je ne pense pas qu'il soit là.
I don't think he's there.
Subjunctive — the assertion is withdrawn.
The forms are mostly regular
For most verbs, take the ils form of the present indicative, drop the -ent, and add -e, -es, -e, -ions, -iez, -ent. Ils parlent gives parle, parles, parle, parlions, parliez, parlent. A small set — être, avoir, aller, faire, pouvoir, savoir, vouloir — are irregular and worth learning outright, because they are the ones you will need most.
parler → que je parle
regular formation from the ils stem
être → que je sois
irregular, and very common
avoir → que j'aie
irregular
aller → que j'aille
irregular
Common mistakes
Je pense qu'il soit là.
Je pense qu'il est là.
Affirmative penser asserts a belief, so it takes the indicative. Only the negative flips it.
Il faut que tu viens.
Il faut que tu viennes.
Il faut que is an absolute trigger — necessity is never asserted as fact about the second clause.
Je veux que je parte.
Je veux partir.
When both halves share a subject, French uses the infinitive rather than que plus subjunctive.
Frequently asked questions
How is the French subjunctive different from the Spanish one?
The logic is closely related — both mark non-asserted clauses — but the trigger lists differ and French uses it less. French has also largely lost the imperfect subjunctive in speech, where Spanish uses its equivalent constantly.
Do French speakers actually use it?
Yes, constantly, in the present. Il faut que and bien que are everyday phrases and the subjunctive after them is obligatory. What has disappeared from speech is the imperfect subjunctive, which now sounds archaic outside literature.
Is there a shortcut for the triggers?
Necessity, wish, emotion, doubt, and a fixed list of conjunctions — bien que, pour que, avant que, à moins que, jusqu'à ce que. The conjunctions are worth memorising outright because they are absolute and there are not many of them.