Rule to form Le Subjonctif Présent

DiegoC1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Rule to form Le Subjonctif Présent

If you say the stem has to be the stem of the infinitive, then yes, you'll find lots of irregular verbs. But there's a much better rule, and I'd say the few verbs that don't follow it could be called irregular in the Subjonctif Présent.

- je/tu/il/elle/on/ils/elles: the stem is the Indicatif Présent third person plural, minus -ent

- nous/vous: the stem is the Indicatif Présent second/third first plural, minus -ons 


Examples:

aimer -> ils aiment -> aim-

venir -> ils viennent -> vienn-

tenir -> ils tiennent -> tienn-

prendre -> ils prennent -> prenn-

...


There are not that many exceptions to this rule. Some important ones:

    - avoir       -> aie/aies/ait/ayons/ayez/aient
    - être        -> soi-  (turns into soyons/soyez making ii into y)
    - faire       -> fass-
    - pouvoir     -> puiss-
    - savoir      -> sach-
    - aller       -> aill- / all-
    - valoir      -> vaill- / val-
    - vouloir     -> veuill- / voul-


NOTE: where there are two stems, the second one is for nous/vous, the first one is for all others.

Asked 4 years ago
ChrisC1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

The rule for forming the subjunctive present is just that: take the stem of the third person plural in present tense and add the corresponding subjunctive suffixes.

I agree with you, that they are not really irregular in the way they form the subjunctive. They only are irregular in forming the 3rd person plural, but that's a different matter.

Rule to form Le Subjonctif Présent

If you say the stem has to be the stem of the infinitive, then yes, you'll find lots of irregular verbs. But there's a much better rule, and I'd say the few verbs that don't follow it could be called irregular in the Subjonctif Présent.

- je/tu/il/elle/on/ils/elles: the stem is the Indicatif Présent third person plural, minus -ent

- nous/vous: the stem is the Indicatif Présent second/third first plural, minus -ons 


Examples:

aimer -> ils aiment -> aim-

venir -> ils viennent -> vienn-

tenir -> ils tiennent -> tienn-

prendre -> ils prennent -> prenn-

...


There are not that many exceptions to this rule. Some important ones:

    - avoir       -> aie/aies/ait/ayons/ayez/aient
    - être        -> soi-  (turns into soyons/soyez making ii into y)
    - faire       -> fass-
    - pouvoir     -> puiss-
    - savoir      -> sach-
    - aller       -> aill- / all-
    - valoir      -> vaill- / val-
    - vouloir     -> veuill- / voul-


NOTE: where there are two stems, the second one is for nous/vous, the first one is for all others.

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