Question 1

Why is demande in the present subjunctive when the main verb (voulait) is in the past tense?

Accepted Answer

In everyday modern French, the present subjunctive is used even after a past-tense main verb, as long as the action in the subjunctive clause happens at the same time or after the main action. The older, formal rule required the imperfect subjunctive (que je demandasse), but you will now only encounter that in classic literature.

Question 2

Would it ever make sense to use the past subjunctive (que j'aie demandé) in this sentence?

Accepted Answer

Not with this meaning. You only use the past subjunctive when its action was completed before the action in the main clause. Here, the asking was supposed to happen after the father's wish, so the present subjunctive demande is required to show it is a future action relative to the past wish.

Question 3

How can you tell demande is in the subjunctive here, since it looks identical to the present indicative?

Accepted Answer

For regular -er verbs like demander, the present subjunctive forms for je, tu, il/elle, and ils/elles are spelled exactly the same as the present indicative. You know it is subjunctive here purely because the main verb phrase voulait que requires it.

Question 4

English says 'wanted me to ask'. Why can't we use an infinitive structure like voulait me demander?

Accepted Answer

In French, verbs of will or desire like vouloir cannot be followed by an object pronoun and an infinitive when the subjects of the two actions are different. Because the father is the one wanting, and you are the one asking, you must use que followed by a new clause with a conjugated subjunctive verb.

Mon père voulait que je demande la permission.

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