Rule to form Le Subjonctif PrésentIf 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.
This is still being marked as incorrect. If it is, please explain clearly why; if it is not please fix the problem with the questions related to this topic - it is confusing enough to follow without having repeated confusion added by incorrect marking. I have checked previous answers and it was stated that it was correct but marked wrong for repeating words from the question - but the question was to write "What is the Sorbonne" in French. Fairly difficult to leave Sorbonne out of the answer.
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.
I got this question:
Cette pomme est bonne. - Oui, c'est _______.
I answered bon because I knew to use the masculine, but my question is why it's c'est in this case. I've read the relevant pages ("C'est" vs "Il/Elle est" to say it is/she is/he is in French and Standalone adjectives after c'est are always masculine) and my interpretation is that this would fall under 2b of "C'est" vs "Il/Elle est" to say it is/she is/he is in French:
il est/elle est for statements and opinions related to specific things.Bonjour,
There was a sentence I was working on
Do not call them after eight P.M! For this sentence the answer was
Ne Les appelle pas après huit du soir. Are they using Les here as the direct object because their is no preposition for it to be indirect?
Also why is the pronoun y in this sentence after the conjugated verb?
Tu devrais y prêter attention?
Thank you
Nicole
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