The subjunctive

Question 1

Forming the present subjunctive

Answer 1

stem for je, tu, il/elle, ils/elles formed by dropping -ent from ils/elles form
stem for nous and vous formed by dropping -ons from first person plural of present indicative. present subjunctive for nous and vous is identical to forms of the imparfait
endings=
-e
-es
-e
-ions
-iez
-ent

Question 2

être in present subjunctive

Answer 2

has both irregular stem and endings
je sois
tu sois
il/elle soit
nous soyons
vous soyez
ils/elles soient

Question 3

avoir in the present subjunctive

Answer 3

has both irregular stem and endings
j’aie
tu aies
il/elle ait
nous ayons
vous ayez
ils/elles aient

Question 4

pouvoir in the present subjunctive

Answer 4

has an irregular stem but regular endings
stem=puiss

Question 5

savoir in the present subjunctive

Answer 5

has an irregular stem but regular endings
stem=sach

Question 6

faire in the present subjunctive

Answer 6

has an irregular stem but regular endings
stem=fass

Question 7

aller in the present subjunctive

Answer 7

has an irregular stem in the je, tu, il/elle, ils/elles forms and is partially irregular in the nous and vous forms
j’aille
tu ailles
il/elle aille
nous allions
vous alliez
ils/elles aillent

Question 8

vouloir in the present subjunctive

Answer 8

has an irregular stem in the je, tu, il/elle, ils/elles forms and is partially irregular in the nous and vous forms
je veuille
tu veuilles
il/elle veuille
nous voulions
vous vouliez
ils/elles veuillent

Question 9

uses of the subjunctive

Answer 9

-after verbs expressing the notion of wish and desire
-when the subject of the main clause is different from the subject of the dependent clause
-after expressions of emotion
-after expressions of doubt
-after penser and croire in the negative and interrogative
-after a superlative or an adjective conveying a superlative idea, such as premier, dernier, seul, unique etc
-after the relative pronoun quelqu’un qui if there is some doubt about the existence of someone or the possible realization of something

Question 10

pourvu que

Answer 10

pourvu que=provided that eg.
il ne démissionnera pas pourvu que le directeur lui donne une augmentation de salaire
-when used in a single clause takes a different meaning expressing hopes and desires and is followed by the subjunctive
eg. pourvu qu’il réussisse (let’s hope he succeeds)

Question 11

forming the past subjunctive

Answer 11

-used in same way as present
- use the present subjunctive of avoir or être + the past participle of the verb
eg. nous sommes ravis qu’elle ait gagné la médaille d’or