The subjunctive: que je sois, que tu fasses

The subjonctif (subjunctive) is a set of verb forms used after que when the idea is not presented as a plain fact: something necessary, wished for, feared, doubted or aimed at. Il faut que tu viennes (You have to come). Je suis content que tu sois là (I'm glad you're here).

It almost always follows que, and the two parts of the sentence usually have different subjects. The present subjunctive also covers the future: que tu partes can mean “that you leave” or “that you'll leave”.

Take the ils form of the present, remove -ent, and add -e, -es, -e, -ions, -iez, -ent. The singular and the ils form often sound like the present. The nous and vous forms look like the imparfait, so verbs with two stems, like prendre, venir or boire, use the nous stem there: que nous prenions, que vous veniez, que nous buvions.

A few very common verbs have their own stem. Être and avoir are irregular in every form: que je sois, que tu sois, qu'il soit, que nous soyons, que vous soyez, qu'ils soient; que j'aie, que tu aies, qu'il ait, que nous ayons, que vous ayez, qu'ils aient.

These are the most useful phrases that take the subjunctive at B1 level.

If both parts have the same subject, use an infinitive instead: Je suis content de venir (not que je vienne), J'aimerais partir, Je t'appelle avant de partir.

Some phrases that look similar take the ordinary indicative: je pense que, je crois que, je trouve que (positive opinions), espérer que (to hope that), parce que and pendant que. J'espère que tu viendras.