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When giving advice (*un conseil*) and talking about healthy living, you will often express necessity using phrases like *il faut que* (it is necessary that / you must).

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In French, expressions of necessity, judgment, and emotion trigger a special verb mood in the following clause: the **subjunctive** (*le subjonctif*).

### Forming the Regular Present Subjunctive

The subjunctive almost always appears after the word *que*. To conjugate a regular verb in the present subjunctive for *je*, *tu*, *il/elle/on*, and *ils/elles*, follow these simple steps:

1. Take the normal present tense *ils/elles* form of the verb (e.g., *ils transpirent*, *ils choisissent*).
2. Drop the *-ent* to find your subjunctive stem (*transpir-*, *choisiss-*).
3. Add the subjunctive endings: **-e**, **-es**, **-e**, **-ent**.

| Pronoun | Ending | transpirer (stem: transpir-) | choisir (stem: choisiss-) |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j' | -e | que je transpire | que je choisisse |
| tu | -es | que tu transpires | que tu choisisses |
| il/elle/on | -e | qu'il transpire | qu'il choisisse |
| ils/elles | -ent | qu'ils transpirent | qu'ils choisissent |

Notice that for regular *-er* verbs, these subjunctive forms look identical to the normal present indicative tense. However, for *-ir* verbs, you will clearly hear the *-iss-* stem carrying over.

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### Other Expressions of Necessity

*Il faut que* is the most common subjunctive trigger, but you will use the exact same verb forms after other impersonal expressions of advice and judgment, such as *il vaut mieux que* (it is better that) or *il est important que* (it is important that).

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### The *Nous* and *Vous* Forms

For *nous* and *vous*, the regular present subjunctive uses different endings: **-ions** and **-iez**. 

If you have already learned the *imparfait* (the continuous past tense), you have a great shortcut: for regular verbs, the *nous* and *vous* present subjunctive forms are completely identical to their *imparfait* forms! 

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Regular present subjunctive

adjective

adverb

conjunction

contraction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

phrase

prep

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Singular 'to be' and indefinite articles (je suis un...)

Singular definite articles (le, la, l')

Identifying vs. describing (c'est vs. il est)

Feminine adjective agreement (+e)

Plural pronouns and 'to be' (nous sommes, vous êtes)

Formal and informal you (tu vs. vous)

Plural nouns and indefinite articles (des... -s)

Plural definite articles (les)

Plural adjective agreement (+s)

Stressed pronouns (moi, toi, lui)

The verb "to have" singular (j'ai, tu as, il a)

The verb "to have" plural (nous avons, vous avez, ils ont)

There is / there are (il y a)

Basic verbal negation (ne... pas)

Negating "there is" (il n'y a pas de)

Regular -er verbs singular (je parle, tu parles, il parle)

Regular -er verbs plural (nous parlons, vous parlez, ils parlent)

The verb "to be called" (s'appeler)

Yes/no questions with intonation (Tu parles ?)

Yes/no questions with "Est-ce que" (Est-ce que tu parles ?)

Informal questions (qui, que, quoi)

Standard questions (est-ce que)

Singular possessives (mon, ton, son)

Plural possessives (notre, votre, leur)

Demonstrative adjectives (ce, cet, cette, ces)

Adjective placement

Numbers 1 to 20

Numbers 21 to 100

Age and physical states (avoir)

The verb to go (aller)

The preposition to/at (à, au, aux)

Question word for location (où)

Prepositions for cities and countries (à, en, au, aux)

The verb to come (venir)

The preposition from/of (de, du, des)

Question word for origin (d'où)

The verb to do/make (faire)

Days of the week (lundi, mardi)

Telling time (il est... heure)

Question words for time (quand, à quelle heure)

The verb to take or have (prendre)

The verb to drink (boire)

Partitive articles (du, de la, de l')

Zero quantity (pas de)

Expressions of quantity (un peu de, beaucoup de)

Asking how much or how many (combien, combien de)

Very vs. a lot (très, beaucoup)

The verb to want (vouloir)

Polite requests (je voudrais)

The verb to be able to (pouvoir)

Obligation (devoir)

General obligation (il faut)

Why and because (pourquoi, parce que)

Expressing purpose (pour)

Reflexive pronouns (me, te, se, nous, vous)

Daily routine verbs (se lever, s'habiller)

Adverbs of frequency (parfois, rarement)

Never (ne... jamais)

Regular -ir verbs (choisir, finir)

Regular -re verbs (attendre, répondre)

Irregular -ir verbs (sortir, partir, dormir)

Informal 'we' (on)

The imperative mood

Direct object pronouns (le, la, les, l')

The near future (aller + infinitive)

The recent past (venir de + infinitive)

The passé composé with avoir

Irregular past participles (eu, été, fait, pris, vu)

The passé composé with être

The negative passé composé (ne ... pas)

Saying goodbye

Please, sorry and thank you

Which / what (quel)

The indefinite adjective (tout, tous)

Irregular feminine adjectives (-euse, -ve)

Double consonant adjectives (-enne, -ette)

Feminine adjective endings (-ère, -trice)

Irregular plurals (-x)

Plurals ending in -al (-aux)

Present tense stem changes (e to è)

Accent stem changes (é to è)

Double consonant verbs (appeler, jeter)

Verbs ending in -yer (payer, envoyer)

Irregular communication verbs (dire, lire)

Irregular action verbs (écrire, mettre)

Question	Answer
the advice	le conseil
healthy	sain
I give you this advice: you must choose a healthy meal.	Je te donne ce conseil : il faut que tu choisisses un repas sain.
the joint (f)	l'articulation
flexible	souple
Listen to this advice: you must keep your joints very flexible.	Écoute ce conseil : il faut que tu gardes tes articulations très souples.
to sweat	transpirer
the yoga	le yoga
He asks if it is normal that you sweat during yoga.	Il demande si c'est normal que tu transpires pendant le yoga.
to lose weight	mincir
daily	quotidien
It is better that you lose weight with a daily sport.	Il vaut mieux que tu mincisses avec un sport quotidien.
the breathing	la respiration
It is important that you improve your breathing to protect your joints.	Il est important que tu améliores ta respiration pour protéger tes articulations.
It is essential that these men sweat and that they choose healthy meals.	Il est essentiel que ces hommes transpirent et qu'ils choisissent des repas sains.
What is great with daily yoga is that you must improve your breathing.	Ce qui est génial avec le yoga quotidien, c'est qu'il faut que tu améliores ta respiration.
to stretch	s'étirer
Your joints will stay young, but you must stretch often.	Tes articulations resteront jeunes, mais il faut que tu t'étires souvent.
The advice that he gave says that I must lose weight.	Les conseils qu'il a donnés disent qu'il faut que je mincisse.
What I hate is that we must sweat a lot.	Ce que je déteste, c'est qu'il faut que nous transpirions beaucoup.
It is necessary that you finish this daily exercise to be very flexible.	Il est nécessaire que vous finissiez cet exercice quotidien pour être très souples.
It is better that we stretch after the daily sport.	Il vaut mieux que nous nous étirions après le sport quotidien.