When to use subjunctive and when not to…

Richard C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

When to use subjunctive and when not to…

This may have been touched on already: 

Je ne comprends pas le temps que ça lui prend de se préparer !

…is cited as an example of when it’s not appropriate to use the subjunctive.. Fair enough, but why is it also included amongst those examples that do use the subjunctive? Is that an error or am I missing something?

 

 

 

 

Asked 2 weeks ago
CélineKwiziq team memberCorrect answer

Bonjour Richard,

"le temps que ça prend de..." implies a fact ; therefore, you will use L'Indicatif. Also, it is not the exact same structure as "le temps que [subject pronoun: je/tu/il etc.] or [noun] + [verb]":

"le temps que ça (me/te/lui/etc.) prend de..." vs "le temps que je/tu/il/etc. [prenne/prennes/prenne/etc.] de..."

Take a look at a previous answer in this topic:

Is this correct?

I hope this is helpful.

Bonne journée 

JimC1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Bonjour Richard,

"Je ne comprends pas le temps que ça lui prend de se préparer !  I don't understand the time she takes to get ready!"

As I see it, it is a matter of context. If there were to be a sense of frustration or irritation then I can see a case for the subjunctive mood. However, if the sense is simply that of incredulity or inability to understand, then there is no emotion being expressed and the subjunctive mood is no longer appropriate.

Bonne journée

Jim

When to use subjunctive and when not to…

This may have been touched on already: 

Je ne comprends pas le temps que ça lui prend de se préparer !

…is cited as an example of when it’s not appropriate to use the subjunctive.. Fair enough, but why is it also included amongst those examples that do use the subjunctive? Is that an error or am I missing something?

 

 

 

 

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