Questions & Answers about Je viendrai à moins qu'il pleuve.
Why is pleuve in the subjunctive here?
The phrase à moins que (unless) is a conjunction expressing a restriction. Similar to sans que (without), it introduces a scenario filled with uncertainty that hasn't happened yet. Because of this, it always requires the following verb to be in the subjunctive mood.
I have sometimes seen a ne after à moins que. Why isn't it à moins qu'il ne pleuve?
You are thinking of the "ne explétif", an extra, untranslated ne often added after conjunctions like à moins que and avant que. It does not make the sentence negative. While common in formal written French, it is usually dropped in everyday spoken French, which is why it is missing here.
How do I form the subjunctive of pleuvoir?
Pleuvoir (to rain) is an impersonal verb, meaning you only ever conjugate it with il (it). Its subjunctive form is qu'il pleuve. It looks similar to the present indicative (il pleut), but it drops the -t and takes the standard subjunctive -e ending.
Is viendrai a regular future tense conjugation?
No, venir (to come) is irregular. While regular verbs build their future tense on their infinitive, venir changes its stem entirely to viendr-. Then you add the standard future ending for je, which is -ai, giving us je viendrai.
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