does falloir not take the subjunctive in the negative?

Leah V.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

does falloir not take the subjunctive in the negative?

Il ne faut ramasser que ce qu'on peut manger le jour-même .... why isn't it "puisse"?

This question relates to:French dictation exercise "Fishing for cockles"

Dictation exercise B2

Asked 4 years ago

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Alan G.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor Correct answer

Il faut que + [subordinate clause] always takes the subjunctive, but il faut + [infinitive] does not.

In this case the verb after faut is the infinitive ramasser, so it doesn't take the subjunctive. Any other verbs later in the sentence are unaffected, because they don't follow immediately after il faut.

By the way, I don't think this is a negative, it's ne ... que = only

Like24 years ago

Leah V. asked:

does falloir not take the subjunctive in the negative?

Il ne faut ramasser que ce qu'on peut manger le jour-même .... why isn't it "puisse"?

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