Other Subjunctive-Triggering Conjunctions: sans que, non que, soit que, où que, quoi que

Once you have il faut que, je veux que, bien que, avant que, and the conditional conjunctions under your belt, you have covered the productive core of the French subjunctive — the constructions that make up roughly 95% of what you hear in everyday speech. This page covers the remaining 5%: a constellation of conjunctions that are less frequent in conversation but heavily present in journalism, formal writing, and literature, and that any B2+ reader of French needs to recognize. Several of them — où que, qui que, quoi que — are the French way of building "wherever / whoever / whatever" expressions, which English handles with the universally indicative -ever-words. Others — sans que, non que, soit que ... soit que, pour autant que, autant que — are concessive or epistemic conjunctions that English would handle with very different constructions.

This is a recognition skill more than a production skill: at B2 you should be able to parse these forms in a newspaper article without stumbling, and produce them yourself in writing when the register calls for it. In casual conversation, several of them would sound bookish and could be replaced with simpler alternatives. We will flag the register expectations as we go.

Sans que: without [someone] doing something

Sans que is the most common conjunction on this page and the one that crosses freely into everyday speech. It corresponds to English "without" when "without" introduces a clause — that is, "without him knowing," "without us seeing," "without anything happening."

The same-subject form is sans + infinitive, very common:

The ne explétif (the bare, non-negative ne) appears optionally with sans que in formal writing — sans qu'il ne s'en aperçoive, sans que personne ne s'en rende compte. As elsewhere, this ne is purely stylistic; it does not negate. In casual speech it is usually dropped.

Non que: not that — denying a possible cause

Non que (sometimes non pas que) is one of the more elegant tools in the French argumentative toolkit. It introduces a clause that the speaker denies as the cause or reason for what follows in the main clause — "not that he's mean, but...", "not that I doubt you, but..." It is a hedge that lets the speaker proactively rule out an alternative interpretation.

The construction is fairly formal in feel — slightly literary or rhetorical — and lends itself to careful, considered speech and writing. In casual conversation, French speakers often say c'est pas que + indicative instead: c'est pas qu'il est méchant, mais... — but non que + subjunctive is the elegant, register-neutral form.

Soit que ... soit que: whether ... or whether

Soit que ... soit que is a paired correlative conjunction meaning "whether ... or whether," used to lay out two possible explanations or two alternative scenarios.

This is a literary or rhetorical construction; in casual speech, French speakers more often say qu'il vienne ou qu'il reste (also subjunctive) or simply soit ... soit ... without a verb (soit le rouge, soit le bleu). The full soit que ... soit que + subjunctive shows up in formal writing, in argumentative prose, and in deliberately measured speech.

Où que, qui que, quoi que: the universal concessive series

Now the family of conjunctions that English handles with -ever compounds: wherever, whoever, whatever. French builds these with où que, qui que, and quoi que, all followed by the subjunctive.

Où que: wherever

Qui que: whoever

A useful note: qui que most commonly appears in the frozen expressions qui que tu sois, qui que ce soit, and qui qu'il soit. The construction does not extend as freely as où que does — for "whoever does X" you would more naturally say quiconque fait X or celui qui fait X.

Quoi que: whatever

This is the trickiest one because it is identical in pronunciation to quoique (one word, "although"). The two are different in meaning and in spelling, and confusing them is one of the classic French orthographic errors.

A semantic test for distinguishing quoique (one word) from quoi que (two words): can you replace it with "no matter what"? If yes, it is quoi que (two words). Can you replace it with "although" or "even though"? If yes, it is quoique (one word).

Both take the subjunctive; both are pronounced identically. Only the spelling distinguishes them. Master this distinction — it appears constantly in B2+ French.

Quel que: whatever (with a noun)

A close cousin of the family is quel que + subject + verb in subjunctive, used when the "whatever" combines with a noun. Quel agrees in gender and number with the noun.

The structure is rigid: quel que / quelle que / quels que / quelles que + verb (almost always être in the subjunctive — soit, soient) + subject. Note that the order is inverted: verb before subject. This construction is common in formal speech and writing and is one of the marks of a competent B2+ writer of French.

Pour autant que: as far as / insofar as

Pour autant que introduces a clause that hedges the speaker's claim — it concedes that the assertion holds only within the limits of the speaker's knowledge or judgment.

The construction is slightly formal and sounds careful, measured, lawyerly — exactly the right register for academic writing or careful argumentation. In casual speech, French speakers often say à ma connaissance (to my knowledge) or si je peux me permettre (if I may say so) for similar effects.

Autant que: as far as (in the same family)

Autant que on its own — without pour — also takes the subjunctive in this hedging meaning.

These hedging uses of autant que are conversational despite their formal feel — autant que je sache is something French speakers say all the time when they are not entirely sure of a fact. Note the pattern: most of these are frozen with que je sache, que je puisse en juger, que je m'en souvienne — fixed expressions that learners can simply memorize as units.

Comparison: the formal subjunctive-triggering conjunctions

How French differs from English

English handles "wherever / whoever / whatever" with simple -ever compounds plus the indicative. Wherever you go, whoever you are, whatever you do — the verb is in its plain default form and the -ever word does all the semantic work. French splits the work between the conjunction (où que, qui que, quoi que) and the mood (subjunctive) — the morphology reflects the universal-concessive meaning.

For non que, soit que, pour autant que, autant que, English uses entirely different constructions — not that, whether, insofar as, as far as — none of which has any morphological reflex. Learners must learn both halves: the French conjunction and the obligation to put the following verb in the subjunctive.

A useful drill: take a list of -ever sentences in English and translate them into French, paying attention to which conjunction is correct (où que / qui que / quoi que / quel que) and conjugating the verb in the subjunctive. The combination of choosing the right conjunction and getting the morphology right is what makes B2+ French look fluent.

A literary-flavored bonus: pour... que / si... que

A more literary construction worth recognizing: pour + adjective + que + subjunctive (or its variant si + adjective + que + subjunctive) builds an emphatic concessive structure meaning "however ... [adjective] ...".

This construction is decidedly literary and would sound pompous in casual speech, but you will encounter it in essays, in journalism, and in formal speech. The subjunctive is structural — pour vieux qu'il est would be ungrammatical.

Common Mistakes

Mistake 1: Confusing quoique (one word, "although") with quoi que (two words, "whatever").

The pronunciation is identical; only the spelling distinguishes the two. Quoique (one word) = "although"; quoi que (two words) = "whatever / no matter what." Both take the subjunctive but in completely different syntactic contexts. Master the distinction — it is one of the most stigmatized spelling errors in French.

Mistake 2: Using the indicative after sans que.

The English "without us seeing" gives no clue that a subjunctive is needed. Drill sans qu'on le voie, sans qu'il s'en aperçoive, sans qu'on s'en rende compte.

Mistake 3: Forgetting that quel que agrees with the noun.

Quel que agrees in gender and number with the noun it modifies, and the verb (être in the subjunctive) also agrees. Quel que soit + masculine singular / quelle que soit + feminine singular / quels que soient + masculine plural / quelles que soient + feminine plural. This is one of the classic agreement traps in formal French writing.

Mistake 4: Using the indicative with quoi que by analogy with English "whatever."

English "whatever he says" uses the simple indicative says. French requires the subjunctive dise. The conjunction does not let the verb stay in default form — the morphology must reflect the universal-concessive meaning.

Mistake 5: Using non que with the indicative.

The mood is structurally required after non que, even though the embedded clause might describe a fact the speaker accepts. The subjunctive marks the clause as a hypothesis the speaker is denying as the cause of what follows.

Key takeaways

• Sans que, non que, soit que ... soit que, où que, qui que, quoi que, quel que, pour autant que, and autant que all trigger the subjunctive.
• Quoique (one word) means "although"; quoi que (two words) means "whatever / no matter what." Same pronunciation, different meanings, different spelling. Master the distinction.
• Quel que agrees in gender and number with the noun it modifies — quel que soit, quelle que soit, quels que soient, quelles que soient.
• Sans que and à moins que permit the optional ne explétif, a non-negative ne used in formal style. Sans qu'on (ne) le voie — both forms are correct.
• Pour autant que je sache and autant que je sache are everyday hedges meaning "as far as I know" — frozen expressions that take the subjunctive.
• The literary pour ... que / si ... que
  • adjective + subjunctive construction means "however [adjective] X may be" — a recognition skill for formal writing.
• These conjunctions are heavier in writing than in speech; at B2+ you should recognize them effortlessly and produce them when the register calls for them.