Indicative vs subjonctif

nicole r.A2Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Indicative vs subjonctif

Hi,

Sorry I have another question. When working on knowing the difference between the verbs in the indicative or Subjonctif what is the easiest way?

I thought this sentence was Subjonctif but it is indicatif.

Il dit que leur page d'accueil (être) ____ attrayante. They used est not soit

 

Thanks

Nicole

Asked 4 years ago
CélineKwiziq team memberCorrect answer

Bonjour Nicole,

We love receiving questions at KWIZIQ! No need to apologise. Asking is learning! And that’s what we are here for.

About your question, Marie's answer is brillant.

‘dire que’ is never followed by Le Subjonctif because Le Subjonctif is used to express something like a wish or something that conveys a particular feeling (such as desire, wish, …). Also it is usually hypothetical.

 

Examples:

Wish :

Je veux que tu m’achètes une voitureI want you to buy me a car.

Desire:

J’ai envie que tu ailles à l’université I want you to go to university

 Here is a link from Kwiziq that encapsulates everything about Le Subjonctif Présent: verb-tense-mood/french-present-subjunctive

 I hope this is helpful.

Bonne journée!

Marie F.B2 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Hi Nicole,

There is a lesson about le subjonctif on Lawless French at:

https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/subjunctive/

It provides a long list of verbs that take le subjonctif. You'll see that these are categorised as follows:

• Verbs that express Preferences, Advice, Needs, Desires, Orders (PANDO)

• Verbs that express Judgments, Emotions, Feelings (JEF)

• Verbs that express Possibilities, Opinions, Doubts, Suppositions (PODS)

The sentence you refer to that uses "dire que" doesn't take le subjonctif because it is simply a statement of fact, an affirmative statement. It doesn't fall into one of the categories above.

You might also want to check out the Subjunctivisor tool on Lawless French at:

https://www.lawlessfrench.com/subjunctivisor/

If you select "dire que" from the drop-down list in the Subjunctivisor tool, the resulting information explains that "dire que" might sometimes require le subjonctif if used in a negative or interrogative statement. It also provides useful examples.

Hope this helps :)

nicole r.A2Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Thank you girls so much

John B.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

For Celine's responce to Nicole, bad link in your answer. This seems like the quickest way to notify

"mood/the-french-subjunctive-mood-le-mode-subjonctif-ou-le-subjonctif"

CélineKwiziq team member

Bonjour James,

Thank you for pointing this out ! It has been corrected. 

Merci et bonne journée !

Indicative vs subjonctif

Hi,

Sorry I have another question. When working on knowing the difference between the verbs in the indicative or Subjonctif what is the easiest way?

I thought this sentence was Subjonctif but it is indicatif.

Il dit que leur page d'accueil (être) ____ attrayante. They used est not soit

 

Thanks

Nicole

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