Le subjonctif, or French subjunctive, is probably the most notorious verb-related topic among French learners. So while English speakers may need some time to know when to use the subjunctive mood, the good news is that French subjunctive conjugation is actually pretty straightforward.
This post is not about when to use subjunctive French. Instead, our focus here is entirely on French present subjunctive conjugation. We’ll go through the regular and irregular rules, and finish up with full present subjunctive conjugation tables for ten important irregular verbs. Let’s get started!
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French subjunctive conjugation
Like other tenses in French, to form the subjonctif présent, you’ll need a stem and endings. The subjunctive stem is formed by taking the stem from the third-person plural présent conjugation.
Once we have the verb stem, we just add the following subjunctive endings:
| Subject | Subjonctif présent ending |
| que je | -e |
| que tu | -es |
| qu’il, qu’elle | -e |
| que nous | -ions |
| que vous | -iez |
| qu’ils, qu’elles | -ent |
The singular first- and second-person endings, as well as the singular and plural third-person endings, should look familiar: these are the same endings as the présent tense for -er verbs. The first- and second-person plural endings should also ring a bell: they are the same endings as the imparfait tense for -er and -re verbs!
To brush up on the conjugations of all the French tenses, check out the “Conjugation” section of our big post: French conjugation: A detailed how-to guide. To review the uses and formation of the imparfait, head over to our dedicated post: L’imparfait: When and how to use the French imperfect tense.
In the next section we’ll see these endings applied to regular verbs for each verb group. Then we’ll move on to irregular verbs in general, and finally we’ll have a section with conjugation tables for some of the most common verbs with irregular subjunctive conjugation.
French subjunctive conjugation: Regular verbs
Believe it or not, French subjunctive conjugation is fairly straightforward since all three families of regular verbs all follow the same rules! Whether for -er, -ir, or -re verbs, to get our subjunctive French conjugation we always just start with the stem and add the same endings we saw above. Let’s go through an example verb for each of these regular French verb groups here.
Since the French subjunctive is almost always preceded by que, we’ve included this word in our verb tables to help you distinguish between the different tenses.
Regular -er verb subjunctive conjugation
Let’s use the verb regarder as our example of a regular -er verb. The third-person plural présent conjugation is ils regardent, so our subjonctif stem is regard-. Let’s see the full regarder conjugation once we add the subjunctive endings:
| Subject | Regarder subjonctif conjugation |
| que je | regarde |
| que tu | regardes |
| qu’il, qu’elle | regarde |
| que nous | regardions |
| que vous | regardiez |
| qu’ils, qu’elles | regardent |
Note that certain verbs that end in -ier in French, such as étudier and skier, will have a double “i” in the first- and second-person plural subjonctif forms: que nous étudiions, que vous skiiez.
Regular -ir verb subjunctive conjugation
We’ll use the verb choisir as our example of a regular -ir verb. The third-person plural présent conjugation is ils choisissent, so our subjonctif stem is choisiss-. Here, you’ll notice a clear difference between the first-, second-, and third-person conjugations in the présent and those in the subjonctif.
| Subject | Choisir subjonctif conjugation |
| que je | choisisse |
| que tu | choisisses |
| qu’il, qu’elle | choisisse |
| que nous | choisissions |
| que vous | choisissiez |
| qu’ils, qu’elles | choisissent |
Regular -re verb subjunctive conjugation
We’ll use the verb vendre as our example of a regular -re verb. The third-person plural présent conjugation is ils vendent, so our subjonctif stem is vend-. Like with verbs ending in -ir, you’ll notice a clear difference from other tenses in the first-, second-, and third-person singular forms.
| Subject | Vendre subjonctif conjugation |
| que je | vende |
| que tu | vendes |
| qu’il, qu’elle | vende |
| que nous | vendions |
| que vous | vendiez |
| qu’ils, qu’elles | vendent |
French subjunctive conjugation: Stem-changing verbs
Stem-changing verbs, like “acheter”, “appeler”, and “nettoyer”, have two stems in their subjunctive French conjugations, just as they do in their présent conjugations.
The first stem for these types of verbs, used for the first-, second-, and third-person singular and the third-person plural forms, is formed from the third-person plural présent form, as with most other verbs in the subjonctif présent. The second stem, used for the first- and second-person plural forms, is formed from the first-person plural présent form. Don’t worry if this sounds confusing, just see what we’re talking about with our examples below!
We’ll use the verb acheter as our first example, as a stem-changing verb requiring an accent change. The third-person plural présent form is ils achètent, so our first subjonctif stem is achèt-. The first-person plural présent form is nous achetons, so our second subjonctif stem is achet-.
| Subject | Acheter subjonctif conjugation |
| que j’ | achète |
| que tu | achètes |
| qu’il, qu’elle | achète |
| que nous | achetions |
| que vous | achetiez |
| qu’ils, qu’elles | achètent |
Let’s see these rules applied to another type of stem-changing verb: verbs ending in -eler, such as appeler. The third-person plural présent form is ils appellent, so our first subjonctif stem is appell-. The first-person plural présent form is nous appelons, so our second subjonctif stem is appel-.
| Subject | Appeler subjonctif conjugation |
| que j’ | appelle |
| que tu | appelles |
| qu’il, qu’elle | appelle |
| que nous | appelions |
| que vous | appeliez |
| qu’ils, qu’elles | appellent |
Finally, let’s see these rules applied to a third type of stem-changing verb: verbs ending in -oyer, such as nettoyer. The third-person plural présent form is ils nettoient, so our first subjonctif stem is nettoi-. The first-person plural présent form is nous nettoyons, so our second subjonctif stem is nettoy-.
| Subject | Nettoyer subjonctif conjugation |
| que je | nettoie |
| que tu | nettoies |
| qu’il, qu’elle | nettoie |
| que nous | nettoyions |
| que vous | nettoyiez |
| qu’ils, qu’elles | nettoient |
French subjunctive conjugation: Irregular verbs
In French, there are many high-frequency irregular verbs, and these verbs are also somewhat to highly irregular in their French subjunctive conjugations. These verbs usually have two stems, some of which are irregular and others of which are formed using the regular subjonctif présent rules. Like with stem-changing verbs, the first- and second-person plural forms will usually use a different stem than the rest of the forms. Let’s take a look at some of the most frequently used irregular verbs in the subjonctif.
Aller subjunctive conjugation
The verb aller has two stems in the subjonctif présent: aill- and all-. All of the regular endings are used.
| Subject | Aller subjonctif conjugation |
| que j’ | aille |
| que tu | ailles |
| qu’il, qu’elle | aille |
| que nous | allions |
| que vous | alliez |
| qu’ils, qu’elles | aillent |
Avoir subjunctive conjugation
Although the verb avoir is highly irregular in the subjonctif présent, the usual endings are used with the first stem. There are two stems: ai- and ay-.
| Subject | Avoir subjonctif conjugation |
| que j’ | aie |
| que tu | aies |
| qu’il, qu’elle | aie |
| que nous | ayons |
| que vous | ayez |
| qu’ils, qu’elles | aient |
For full avoir conjugation tables, check out our post on avoir conjugation. We can also recommend our detailed posts on avoir meanings and on French expressions using avoir.
Devoir subjunctive conjugation
The verb devoir, like other special -ir verbs, is irregular in the présent de l’indicatif. The same is true for the subjonctif présent, with two stems: doiv-, from the third person plural présent form, ils doivent, and dev-, from the first person plural présent form, nous devons.
| Subject | Devoir subjonctif conjugation |
| que je | doive |
| que tu | doives |
| qu’il, qu’elle | doive |
| que nous | devions |
| que vous | deviez |
| qu’ils, qu’elles | doivent |
For all the other tenses, check out this post on devoir conjugation.
Être subjunctive conjugation
The verb être is the most irregular verb in the subjonctif présent, using few of the subjonctif endings and two very irregular stems: soi- and soy-.
| Subject | Être subjonctif conjugation |
| que je | sois |
| que tu | sois |
| qu’il, qu’elle | soit |
| que nous | soyons |
| que vous | soyez |
| qu’ils, qu’elles | soient |
For all the other tenses, check out our post on être conjugation.
Faire subjunctive conjugation
The verb faire has only one irregular stem in the subjonctif présent: fass-.
| Subject | Faire subjonctif conjugation |
| que je | fasse |
| que tu | fasses |
| qu’il, qu’elle | fasse |
| que nous | fassions |
| que vous | fassiez |
| qu’ils, qu’elles | fassent |
Prendre subjunctive conjugation
The verb prendre has two stems in the subjonctif présent, as in the présent de l’indicatif: prenn-, from the third-person plural présent form, ils prennent, and pren-, from the first-person plural présent nous prenons.
| Subject | Prendre subjonctif conjugation |
| que je | prenne |
| que tu | prennes |
| qu’il, qu’elle | prenne |
| que nous | prenions |
| que vous | preniez |
| qu’ils, qu’elles | prennent |
Pouvoir subjunctive conjugation
Like “faire”, the verb prendre has an irregular stem in the subjonctif: puiss-.
| Subject | Pouvoir subjonctif conjugation |
| que je | puisse |
| que tu | puisses |
| qu’il, qu’elle | puisse |
| que nous | puissions |
| que vous | puissiez |
| qu’ils, qu’elles | puissent |
Savoir subjunctive conjugation
Savoir has an irregular stem in the subjonctif: sach-.
| Subject | Savoir subjonctif conjugation |
| que je | sache |
| que tu | saches |
| qu’il, qu’elle | sache |
| que nous | sachions |
| que vous | sachiez |
| qu’ils, qu’elles | sachent |
Venir subjunctive conjugation
The verb venir has two stems in the subjonctif présent, as in the présent de l’indicatif: vienn-, from the third-person plural présent form, ils viennent, and ven-, from the first-person plural présent, nous venons.
| Subject | Venir subjonctif conjugation |
| que je | vienne |
| que tu | viennes |
| qu’il, qu’elle | vienne |
| que nous | venions |
| que vous | veniez |
| qu’ils, qu’elles | viennent |
Vouloir subjunctive conjugation
The verb vouloir has two stems in the subjonctif: veuill- and voul-.
| Subject | Vouloir subjonctif conjugation |
| que je | veuille |
| que tu | veuilles |
| qu’il, qu’elle | veuille |
| que nous | voulions |
| que vous | vouliez |
| qu’ils, qu’elles | veuillent |
Conclusion: French subjunctive conjugation
Because of the rules surrounding the use of the subjonctif, it’s often one of the last tenses French students learn to conjugate. However, though its use can be tricky at times, French subjunctive conjugation is relatively straightforward.
In this post we laid out a simple guide to French present subjunctive conjugation, from regular to stem-changing to irregular verbs. This is because in almost all cases the French subjunctive endings are the same: -e, -es, -e, -ions, -iez, and -ent, with just minor -i- to -y- changes to the nous and vous conjugations for some irregular verbs.
The challenging part to conjugation comes with getting the stem, so let’s just do a quick review of the essentials before we go.
First, most regular stems are formed by removing the conjugated ending from the third-person plural présent form of the verb. Stem-changing verbs have two stems in the subjonctif, formed from the first- and third-person plural présent forms of the verb. Finally, most high-use irregular verbs have one or two irregular stems in the subjonctif.
Using this detailed guide, including subjunctive conjugation tables for the ten most important irregular subjunctive verbs, you have everything you need to master the subjonctif présent conjugation in no time!