Recognizing the imperfect subjunctive (qu'il fût, qu'il eût)

The Literary Subjunctive

In everyday French, you use the standard (present) subjunctive even when talking about the past. However, when reading classic French literature—such as traditional fables—you will encounter a special, highly formal tense: the imperfect subjunctive (le subjonctif imparfait).

This tense is used almost exclusively in formal writing. You only need to be able to recognize it when reading; you will rarely, if ever, need to produce it yourself.

Spotting the Circumflex: Fût and Eût

The third-person singular forms (il, elle, on) are by far the most common ones you will see in stories. You can instantly spot them by their signature characteristic: a circumflex accent (^) over the vowel just before the final -t.

For the verb être (to be), the form is qu'il fût.

For the verb avoir (to have), the form is qu'il eût.

Regular Verbs: -ât

Other verbs follow a similar pattern. For verbs ending in -er, such as flatter (to flatter) or supplier (to beg), the third-person singular ending becomes -ât.

Why Use the Imperfect Subjunctive?

In formal literature, French adheres to a strict "sequence of tenses." If a sentence begins with a past tense that triggers the subjunctive (like il voulait que... or il fallait que...), the following subjunctive verb must also shift into the past to match its grammatical environment.

In modern spoken French, all of these revert to the normal present subjunctive (qu'il soit, qu'il ait, qu'il flatte). When reading, just translate these elegant, older forms exactly as you would their everyday equivalents!