Breakdown of La sorcière n'espère plus que tu veuilles invoquer la bête avec ce sortilège.
tu
you (informal singular)
avec
with
ce
this (before a noun)
vouloir
to want
espérer
to hope
que
that (introducing a clause)
ne... plus
(not) anymore / no longer
la bête
the beast
la sorcière
the witch
le sortilège
the spell (magic)
invoquer
to summon
Questions & Answers about La sorcière n'espère plus que tu veuilles invoquer la bête avec ce sortilège.
Why is veuilles in the subjunctive here instead of the indicative?
The verb espérer (to hope) is a special case in French. When used in an affirmative statement, it takes the indicative. But when it is negative, as in n'espère plus (no longer hopes), it expresses doubt or a lack of expectation. This uncertainty triggers the subjunctive mood, which is why we use veuilles instead of the indicative veux.
How would the verb change if the witch did hope you wanted to summon the beast?
Does the negative expression ne ... plus work the exact same way as ne ... pas here?
Yes! Any negative form of espérer que introduces enough doubt to require the subjunctive in the following clause. It doesn't matter if you use ne ... pas (doesn't hope), ne ... plus (no longer hopes), or ne ... jamais (never hopes)—they all trigger the subjunctive.
I often forget the subjunctive of vouloir. Is veuilles a regular formation?
No, vouloir is irregular in the subjunctive. For je, tu, il/elle/on, and ils/elles, it uses the special stem veill- to give us forms like que tu veuilles. However, for nous and vous, it reverts to a stem that looks like the imperfect indicative: que nous voulions and que vous vouliez.
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