Past Subjunctive (le subjonctif passé) in French
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The past subjunctive (le subjonctif passé) expresses an uncertain action, supposedly realized at the moment when we express ourselves. In others words the precedence of the action.
It is also used to express regrets.
Examples:
The action of the 'que' clause occurs before the action of the main clause (the moment you are talking about probably happened)
When using the subjunctive past in a subordinate clause, then the verb of the main proposition is in the present tense.
The past subjunctive is made up of the present subjunctive of avoir or être + the past participle.
Examples
Subjonctif présent | Participe passé | Objet | |
---|---|---|---|
Nous sommes désolés | que vous ne soyez pas | venu | au bal du lycée |
Ils sont heureux | que tu aies | eu | ton bac |
Tu as peur | que je sois | parti | sans toi |
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Most verbs form the past subjunctive with avoir. The past participle conjugated with the auxiliary 'avoir' does not agree with the subject. It agrees with the Direct Object Complement if it is placed before the verb.
Examples :
parler (to speak) | finir (to finish) | travailler (to work) |
---|---|---|
que j'aie parlé | que j'aie fini | que j'aie travaillé |
que tu aies parlé | que tu aies fini | que tu aies travaillé |
qu'il/elle/on ait parlé | qu'il/elle/on ait fini | qu'il/elle/on ait travaillé |
que nous ayons parlé | que nous ayons fini | que nous ayons travaillé |
que vous ayez parlé | que vous ayez fini | que vous ayez travaillé |
qu'ils/elles aient parlé | qu'ils/elles aient fini | qu'ils/elles aient travaillé |
You use the auxiliary 'avoir' to conjugate the past participle of 'avoir' and 'être'
Verbs using 'être' are state verbs. You use it with reflexive verbs and with verbs of movement and lingering. The past subjunctive with 'être' agrees in gender and number with the noun they qualify. There are many verbs and among them you find:
partir (to leave) | aller (to go) | venir (to come) |
---|---|---|
que je sois parti(e) | que je sois allé(e) | que je sois venu(e) |
que tu sois parti(e) | que tu sois allé(e) | que tu sois venu(e) |
qu'il/elle/on soit parti(e) | qu'il/elle/on soit allé(e) | qu'il/elle/on soit venu(e) |
que nous soyons parti(e)s | que nous soyons allé(e)s | que nous soyons venu(e)s |
que vous soyez parti(e)s | que vous soyez parti(e)s | que vous soyez venu(e)s |
qu'ils/elles soient parti(e)s | qu'ils/elles soient parti(e)s | qu'ils/elles soient venu(e)s |
Others verbs that use the auxiliary verb 'être'.
Keep your motivation and test your knowledge about the subjunctive with our exercises.
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Christin is a committed and professional German teacher with experience in teaching German face-to-face. Her teaching methods include setting learning goals with her students and giving continuous feedback. Her activities are guided by a communicative approach and she tries to teach her students german vocabulary for everyday life.
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Bonjour! Veux-tu apprendre français? ou l'améliorer?
My classes are structured according to my students' needs, I use different teaching methods and I rely on listening each of my students' expectations and goals. Dynamism and constant learning are my purposes in my classes.
I have worked as a French teacher for more than ten years.
I have academic studies in English and French from Montréal, Canada, where I lived for several years. I have a Bachelor in Teaching French as a foreign language from the Université de Bourgogne.
I learned French at an early age in immersion in a French-speaking region and I studied French formally for 11 years, obtaining a native level.
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Natalia will be really interested in you as a person, what your goals are, and motivation for you to learn the language. I liked how she was answering all my questions, were patient and positive on our lesson.
Natalia L.Toma, your interest for the language and having learned other languages before will be very helpful for you, continue with your motivation for learning French!
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Bonjour! Veux-tu apprendre français? ou l'améliorer?
My classes are structured according to my students' needs, I use different teaching methods and I rely on listening each of my students' expectations and goals. Dynamism and constant learning are my purposes in my classes.
I have worked as a French teacher for more than ten years.
I have academic studies in English and French from Montréal, Canada, where I lived for several years. I have a Bachelor in Teaching French as a foreign language from the Université de Bourgogne.
I learned French at an early age in immersion in a French-speaking region and I studied French formally for 11 years, obtaining a native level.
À bientôt!
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Training is my passion. I like interacting with people. I am passionate about reading, watching movies, and music. I love to explore new places and have keen interest in arts and literature.I love meeting new people because every person is a whole new world you can learn from. I am also a keen reader and an enthusiastic traveller.
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She is kind, she listen to me and try to help me to understand, she use pictures, english words and try to show me the meaning of words . I recommand her. She offers books for free.
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