The one question that decides everything
By now you know plenty of individual subjunctive triggers. This lesson is about the system behind them, so that you can decide correctly even with an expression you have not met, instead of guessing from lists.
The indicative presents the content as a fact: the speaker stands behind it. The subjunctive presents it as an attitude: wanted, judged, doubted, feared, aimed at – but not asserted as real by the speaker.
The same clause, two moods
Je sais qu'il vient demain.
I know he's coming tomorrow. (fact)
Je doute qu'il vienne demain.
I doubt he's coming tomorrow. (doubt)
Je veux qu'il vienne demain.
I want him to come tomorrow. (wish)
The map of triggers
Almost every trigger falls into one of a few fields of meaning. If you know which field an expression belongs to, you know the mood.
Field of meaning → mood
| Field of meaning | Mood | Expressions |
|---|---|---|
| Knowing, saying | Indicatif | savoir que, dire que, remarquer que |
| Certainty | Indicatif | il est certain / vrai / évident que |
| Opinion (affirmative) | Indicatif | penser que, croire que, trouver que |
| Hope | Indicatif | espérer que |
| Reason, completed fact | Indicatif | parce que, après que, dès que |
| Will, wish, request | Subjonctif | vouloir que, souhaiter que, demander que |
| Feeling | Subjonctif | être content / triste que, avoir peur que, regretter que |
| Doubt, negated opinion or certainty | Subjonctif | douter que, ne pas penser que, il n'est pas sûr que |
| Judgement, possibility | Subjonctif | il faut que, il est important / possible / dommage que |
| Purpose, condition, concession | Subjonctif | pour que, à condition que, bien que |
typical expressions before que
penser, croire, trouver - the mood flips
This is the best-known switch point in French. Affirmative, penser que presents an opinion as a fact – indicative. Negative, the speaker takes the fact back – subjunctive.
Affirmative or negative?
Affirmative → indicative
Je pense qu'il a raison.
I think he's right.
Je crois qu'elle sait tout.
I believe she knows everything.
Negative → subjunctive
Je ne pense pas qu'il ait raison.
I don't think he's right.
Je ne crois pas qu'elle sache tout.
I don't believe she knows everything.
In a question both moods are common: the careful inverted form takes the subjunctive, the everyday question mostly the indicative. In casual speech you even hear the indicative after a negative (je pense pas qu'il a raison), but the subjunctive is correct.
The question
Penses-tu qu'il vienne ?
Do you think he's coming? (careful)
Tu penses qu'il vient ?
Do you think he's coming? (everyday)
What English does differently
English mostly gets by without a visible subjunctive. Where French switches mood, English switches construction: I want him to come uses an infinitive. French cannot copy that pattern with two different subjects and says Je veux qu'il vienne.
Reported speech has no subjunctive in French, and neither does a clause after si: it takes the plain present, just like English.
Je veux qu'il vienne.
I want him to come. (English infinitive, French subjunctive)
Il dit qu'il est malade.
He says he's ill. (indicative in both languages)
Si j'ai le temps, je viens.
If I have time, I'll come.
