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tas2:irregularsubjunctive

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1. verbswithtwostems

2. irregularverbs:avoirandtre

3. irregularverbs:faire,savoir,pouvoir

ThesubjunctiveisoneoffourmoodsinFrench(indicative,imperative,subjunctiveandconditional).Amoodisa
grammaticaltermwhichhelpscategorizeverbtenses.ThesubjunctiveisusedmorefrequentlyinFrenchthanin
English.Oneimportantuseofthesubjunctiveisaftertheexpressionilfautque,indicatingnecessity.The
subjunctivealsoexpressesafeelingoremotionsuchasawish,hope,ordoubt.
Formostverbs,thesubjunctivemoodisformedbydroppingtheentendingfromthethirdpersonpluralofthe
presentindicativeandaddingtheendings:e,es,e,ions,iez,ent.Thisisknownastheregularformationofthe
subjunctive.

verbswithtwostems
Thereareseveralcategoriesofirregularsubjunctiveformations.Thefirstofthesecategoriesconcernsverbswith
twostemsinthesubjunctive.Theseverbshaveasimilartwostemirregularityinthepresentindicative(for
example,'ilsviennent'BUT'nousvenons').Thebootstem(fortheformsje,tu,il/elle,ils/elles)isthethird
personpluralofthepresentindicative,theverysameasthestemforregularformationofthesubjunctive.The
firstpersonpluralofthepresentindicativeprovidesthesecondstemforthe'nous'and'vous'formsofthe
subjunctive.Theregularsubjunctiveendingsareaddedtothesetwostems.

venir'tocome'
quejevienne

quenousvenions

quetuviennes

quevousveniez

qu'il/elle/onvienne

qu'ils/ellesviennent

Inadditiontovenir,hereisalistofthemostfrequentverbswithtwostemsinthesubjunctive:
infinitive

bootstem,for:
je,tu,il/elle/on,
ils/elles

2ndstem,for:
nous,vous

aller(togo)

quej'aille

quenousallions

boire(todrink)

quejeboive

quenousbuvions

croire(tobelieve)

quejecroie

quenouscroyions

devoir(tohaveto)

quejedoive

quenousdevions

mourir(todie)

quejemeure

quenousmourions

prendre(totake)

quejeprenne

quenousprenions

recevoir(toreceive)

quejereoive

quenousrecevions

tenir(tohold)

quejetienne

quenoustenions

voir(tosee)

quejevoie

quenousvoyions

vouloir(towant)

quejeveuille

quenousvoulions

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tas2:irregularsubjunctive

irregularverbs:avoirandtre
Avoirandtrearehighlyirregularinthesubjunctiveandmustbememorized.Notethatthe'nous'and'vous'forms
arespelledwiththelettery(insteadoftheicharacteristicoftheregularsubjunctiveendings).Noteinparticular
thepronunciationofthesubjunctiveformsofavoir,whichhavethesamevowelsoundasfoundinj'ai(Ihave),the
firstpersonsingularinthepresentindicative.

avoir'tohave'

quej'aie

quenousayons

quetuaies

quevousayez

qu'il/elle/onait

qu'ils/ellesaient

tre'tobe'
quejesois

quenoussoyons

quetusois

quevoussoyez

qu'il/elle/onsoit

qu'ils/ellessoient

Notethesimilarityofthesubjunctiveformsoftheverbstreandavoirtotheirrespectiveimperativeforms.

irregularverbs:faire,savoir,pouvoir
Theverbsfaire,savoirandpouvoirhavecompletelyirregularstems.Theendings,however,areregular.

faire'todo'
quejefasse

quenousfassions

quetufasses

quevousfassiez

qu'il/elle/onfasse

qu'ils/ellesfassent

infinitive

firstpersonpresentsubjunctive

savoir(toknow)

quejesache

pouvoir(tobeable)

quejepuisse

Notethesimilaritybetweenthesubjunctiveandimperativeformsoftheverbsavoir.Listentothedialogue:

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tas2:irregularsubjunctive

PawPawdonnedesconseilssonpetit
fils,Tex.

PawPaw:Tex,moncher,ilfautquetu
sachesquelavieestcourte.Tammyest
unetatouformidable.Tunevaspas
trouverunemeilleurefemme.Ilnefaut
pasqueTammyettoiayezpeurdevous
marier.Dpchezvous!Commejel'aidit
...lavieestcourte.Moi,jeveux

seulementquevoussoyezheureux.Et
uneautrechose:aprsvotremariage,il
fautquevousveniezmevoir.Jesuistout
seulenLouisianeetlafamilleme
manque.Ilfautquenousfassionsplusde
chosesensemble.Ilfautquej'aieplusde
compagnie.

PawPawisgivingadvicetohisgrandson
Tex.
PawPaw:Tex,mydear,youhaveto
knowthatlifeisshort.Tammyisa
fabulousarmadillo.Youarenotgoingto
findabetterwife.YouandTammymust
notbeafraidtogetmarried.Hurryup!As
Isaid...lifeisshort.Asforme,Ionly
wantyoutobehappy.Andanotherthing.
Afteryourmarriage,youmustcomesee
me.IamallaloneinLouisianaandI
missmyfamily.Wehavetodomore
thingstogether.I'vegottohavemore
company.

Fillintheblankwiththesubjunctiveoftheverbinparentheses.
1. Tex:Ilfautquej'__________chezPawPaw.(aller)

2. Rita:IlfautqueTex___________fidleTammy!(devenir)

3. Tex:Ilfautquenous___________unpetitvoyage.(faire)

4. PawPaw:IlfautqueTex___________moins.(boire)

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tas2:irregularsubjunctive

5. Tex:Ilfautquevous___________lavrit.(savoir)

6. Tammy:IlfautqueTex_________rflchir.(pouvoir)

7. Corey:Ilfautqueje___________unpsychiatre.(voir)

8. Tammy:Texneveutpasquenous_________desenfants!(avoir)

9. Tammy:Ilfautqueje________courageuse.(tre)

10. Edouard:Ilfautquenous___________aurestaurant.(aller)

11. Tex:Ilfautqueje__________leprixGoncourt!(recevoir)

12. Tammy:Ilfautquevous__________nousvoir!(venir)

Checkanswers
2014tex'sfrenchgrammarfirstyearfrenchutaustincontact

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