Subjunctive trigger

Question

In “Et il arrive trop souvent que les enclos soient trop étroits pour leurs occupants.” What triggers the subjunctive? Should I consider “il arrive que” to trigger it as a general rule?

Accepted Answer

According to Larousse subjunctive is necessary with past tenses, and also the current, common usage in present tense with ‘arriver que’. Using the indicative with present tense is not wrong but considered more formal and older-style usage though, so subjunctive wins presently. https://www.larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais/arriver/5457#difficulte

Answer

Thanks Maarten, I’ll add this to my growing list of “subjunctive triggers” :)

Answer

Bonjour Brian,
Maarten is right! "arriver que" can be used with L'Indicatif. However, it is nowadays very rare and primarily found in literary work. I would suggest using Le Subjonctif first and foremost.  
If in any doubt about using Le Subjonctif with a verb or an expression, please use the following tool from one of our partner sites: https://www.lawlessfrench.com/subjunctivisor/
I hope this is helpful.
Bonne journée !

Answer

Ahh! I will definitely be spending some time on that Lawless French link! Thanks