Breakdown of Pensez-vous que nous adoptions cette approche ?
nous
we / us (object pronoun)
vous
you (plural/formal)
ce
this (before a noun)
penser
to think
que
that (introducing a clause)
adopter
to adopt
l'approche
the approach (f)
Questions & Answers about Pensez-vous que nous adoptions cette approche ?
Why is adoptions in the subjunctive here instead of the present indicative?
The verb penser (to think) takes the indicative when it is a positive statement because it expresses an opinion you hold to be true. But when you turn it into a question using inversion (Pensez-vous que), it introduces doubt about the outcome. That doubt triggers the subjunctive mood for the following verb, giving us adoptions.
The word adoptions looks exactly like the imperfect tense. How can we tell it is the subjunctive here?
For nous and vous, the present subjunctive endings are -ions and -iez. This means that for regular -er verbs like adopter, the present subjunctive forms look completely identical to the imperfect indicative! You have to rely on the grammatical context. Since Pensez-vous que is a subjunctive trigger, we know this is the subjunctive mood, not the imperfect tense.
If I asked the question informally using Est-ce que vous pensez que, would I still use the subjunctive?
Strictly speaking, yes. Questions with opinion verbs trigger the subjunctive. However, in everyday spoken French, people often use the indicative with est-ce que (saying Est-ce que vous pensez que nous adoptons cette approche ?) because formal inversion is what usually highlights the doubt. In written or careful French, the subjunctive adoptions remains the safest choice.
What happens to the verb if I change this question into a regular affirmative statement?
The doubt is removed, so the subjunctive is no longer needed. To say 'You think that we are adopting this approach', you would say Vous pensez que nous adoptons cette approche, switching from the subjunctive adoptions back to the standard present indicative adoptons.
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