Conjugate venir/tenir and derivatives in the subjunctive present in French (Le Subjonctif Présent)

Learn how to conjugate VENIR (to come) and TENIR (to hold) in Le Subjonctif Présent in French

The verbs VENIR and TENIR are irregular in the Le Subjonctif Présent:

 
que je vienne  /  tienne that I come  /  hold
que tu viennes  /  tiennes that you come  /  hold
qu'il/elle/on vienne  /  tienne that he/she/we comes  /  holds
que nous venions  /  tenions that we come  /  hold
que vous veniez  /  teniez that you come  /  hold
qu'ils/elles viennent  /  tiennent that they come  /  hold
 
Note that the nous and vous forms are the same as in L'Imparfait (Indicatif). (See Conjugate regular verbs in the imperfect tense in French (L'Imparfait))

As for the other forms, the irregular roots vienn- for VENIR / tienn- for TENIR are followed by the regular endings of Le Subjonctif Présent: 

-e, -es, -e, [-], [-], -ent

 
 
Have a look at these examples with venir and tenir derivatives:

Il faut que je retienne ma respiration sous l'eau.I have to hold my breath under water.

Elle ne s'attendait pas à ce que tu reviennes.She didn't expect you to come back.

Tu n'es pas sûre qu'il se souvienne de toi.You're not sure he remembers you.

Nos parents voulaient que nous devenions avocats.Our parents wanted us to become lawyers.

Il est important que vous les préveniez immédiatement !It is important that you warn them immediately!

J'ai peur qu'ils ne retiennent jamais la leçon.I'm afraid they'll never learn their lesson.

 

Venir and Tenir derivatives include:

devenir - to become
revenir - to come back
intervenir - to intervene
prévenir - to warn
se souvenir - to remember

retenir - to retain, to hold back
détenir - to detain
obtenir to get, to obtain
appartenir to belong
contenir - to contain

 

 

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Examples and resources

Tu n'es pas sûre qu'il se souvienne de toi.You're not sure he remembers you.
Elle ne s'attendait pas à ce que tu reviennes.She didn't expect you to come back.
Nos parents voulaient que nous devenions avocats.Our parents wanted us to become lawyers.
Il est important que vous les préveniez immédiatement !It is important that you warn them immediately!
J'ai peur qu'ils ne retiennent jamais la leçon.I'm afraid they'll never learn their lesson.
Il faut que je retienne ma respiration sous l'eau.I have to hold my breath under water.
Conjugate venir/tenir and derivatives in the subjunctive present in French (Le Subjonctif Présent)
1 of 2
Il faut qu'ils leur permis de conduire. (They have to get their driving license.)
Conjugate "obtenir" in the Subjonctif présent

Q&A Forum 5 questions, 6 answers

Brian E.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Is “ne pas” ever around the subjunctive?

I’ve seen things like:

Je veux qu’elle vienne

Je ne veux pas qu’elle vienne


But I haven’t (yet) seen:

Je veux qu’elle ne vienne pas 


Does this occur in French? Can the “ne pas” wrap around the subjunctive verb?

Asked 3 years ago
CélineKwiziq Native French TeacherCorrect answer

Bonjour Brian,

 You can find 'ne...pas' around a subjunctive as mentioned by Jim. Here are a few examples:

Il est probable qu'il ne vienne pas = It is likely he won't come

C'est mieux qu'elle ne soit pas = It is better she doesn't come

Tu as peur qu'il ne parte pas = You are afraid he won't leave

Je suis navré que tu n'aies pas d'amis I am sorry you do not have friends

Understanding the 'ne' explétif

I hope this is helpful.

Bonne journée !

Jim J.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Hi Brian,

From my conjugate reference:    Que je ne veuille pas  (vouloir)

                                                       Qu'elle ne vienne pas (venir)

So yes is my reply.

Jim

     

Brian E. asked:

Is “ne pas” ever around the subjunctive?

I’ve seen things like:

Je veux qu’elle vienne

Je ne veux pas qu’elle vienne


But I haven’t (yet) seen:

Je veux qu’elle ne vienne pas 


Does this occur in French? Can the “ne pas” wrap around the subjunctive verb?

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Diego B.C1Kwiziq 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 5 years ago
Chris W.C1 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.

Diego B. asked:

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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Scott N.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

valoir & falloir irregular in the subjonctif?

Hi, I don't believe you have conjugation lessons for the verbs valoir and falloir, which are irregular in the subjonctif. Have I missed them, or would it be possible for you to add them? How many other verbs are irregular in the subjonctif?

thanks, Scott

Asked 6 years ago
Scott N. asked:

valoir & falloir irregular in the subjonctif?

Hi, I don't believe you have conjugation lessons for the verbs valoir and falloir, which are irregular in the subjonctif. Have I missed them, or would it be possible for you to add them? How many other verbs are irregular in the subjonctif?

thanks, Scott

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Daniel G.C1Kwiziq community member

I'll probably (or at least hopefully) discover the answer to this 10 minutes from now, but in the meantime, why isn't the "ne explicative" used here?

Asked 6 years ago
Daniel G.C1Kwiziq community member
To clarify, I'm referring to the question, "Je ne suis pas sûr qu'il ________."I'm not sure he's coming.
Daniel G. asked:

I'll probably (or at least hopefully) discover the answer to this 10 minutes from now, but in the meantime, why isn't the "ne explicative" used here?

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Erin M.A1Kwiziq community member

the person who reads this script cannot be understood!

most readers in the recorded segments are good, clear and articulate. Not this woman. Why?
Asked 8 years ago
AurélieKwiziq Head of French, Native French TeacherCorrect answer
Bonjour Erin !

We've been using different voice softwares, with various results as you can hear :)
Thanks to you, these audio files have now been updated and are much clearer !

Merci et à bientôt !
Erin M.A1Kwiziq community member
Merci, Auélie, ça c'est fantastique !
Erin M. asked:

the person who reads this script cannot be understood!

most readers in the recorded segments are good, clear and articulate. Not this woman. Why?

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