Past Subjunctive (le subjonctif passé) in French
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The past subjunctive (le subjonctif passé) expresses an uncertain action, supposedly realized at the moment when we express ourselves. In others words the precedence of the action.
It is also used to express regrets.
Examples:
The action of the 'que' clause occurs before the action of the main clause (the moment you are talking about probably happened)
When using the subjunctive past in a subordinate clause, then the verb of the main proposition is in the present tense.
The past subjunctive is made up of the present subjunctive of avoir or être + the past participle.
Examples
Subjonctif présent | Participe passé | Objet | |
---|---|---|---|
Nous sommes désolés | que vous ne soyez pas | venu | au bal du lycée |
Ils sont heureux | que tu aies | eu | ton bac |
Tu as peur | que je sois | parti | sans toi |
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Most verbs form the past subjunctive with avoir. The past participle conjugated with the auxiliary 'avoir' does not agree with the subject. It agrees with the Direct Object Complement if it is placed before the verb.
Examples :
parler (to speak) | finir (to finish) | travailler (to work) |
---|---|---|
que j'aie parlé | que j'aie fini | que j'aie travaillé |
que tu aies parlé | que tu aies fini | que tu aies travaillé |
qu'il/elle/on ait parlé | qu'il/elle/on ait fini | qu'il/elle/on ait travaillé |
que nous ayons parlé | que nous ayons fini | que nous ayons travaillé |
que vous ayez parlé | que vous ayez fini | que vous ayez travaillé |
qu'ils/elles aient parlé | qu'ils/elles aient fini | qu'ils/elles aient travaillé |
You use the auxiliary 'avoir' to conjugate the past participle of 'avoir' and 'être'
Verbs using 'être' are state verbs. You use it with reflexive verbs and with verbs of movement and lingering. The past subjunctive with 'être' agrees in gender and number with the noun they qualify. There are many verbs and among them you find:
partir (to leave) | aller (to go) | venir (to come) |
---|---|---|
que je sois parti(e) | que je sois allé(e) | que je sois venu(e) |
que tu sois parti(e) | que tu sois allé(e) | que tu sois venu(e) |
qu'il/elle/on soit parti(e) | qu'il/elle/on soit allé(e) | qu'il/elle/on soit venu(e) |
que nous soyons parti(e)s | que nous soyons allé(e)s | que nous soyons venu(e)s |
que vous soyez parti(e)s | que vous soyez parti(e)s | que vous soyez venu(e)s |
qu'ils/elles soient parti(e)s | qu'ils/elles soient parti(e)s | qu'ils/elles soient venu(e)s |
Others verbs that use the auxiliary verb 'être'.
Keep your motivation and test your knowledge about the subjunctive with our exercises.
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I learned French at an early age in immersion in a French-speaking region and I studied French formally for 11 years, obtaining a native level.
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We are an Italian family residing in France for 3 months, we have two 10 year old children who have just started attending CM1. We asked Natalia to give the children two lessons a week to speed up their learning. We are super happy with the choice. Nous sommes une famille italienne résidant en France depuis janvier, nous avons deux enfants de 10 ans qui viennent de commencer la CM1. Nous avons demandé à Natalia de leur donner deux leçons par semaine pour accélérer leur apprentissage. Nous sommes super contents de Natalia. We are an Italian family living in France since 3 months, we have two 10 year old children who have just started attending CM1. We asked Natalia to give the kids two lessons a week to speed up their learning. We are super happy with this choice.
Natalia L.Fabrizio's children are learning French very fast, I have the impression that these lessons online have been helpful for them and I am sure they will master the language easily. They are very interested in learning.
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Hello,
I am a multilingual teacher with experience in teaching French to German, Japanese, English, Bulgarian and Italian-speaking students, etc. (levels A1 to C1).
I have been teaching French for 8 years in Luxemburg and now in Bulgaria for 4 years, to teenagers, housewives, businessmen, employees, doctors, etc. I can also help you with DELF and DALF preparation. I give lessons via Skype, Zoom and Microsoft Teams in several countries.
My teaching method for each class : a grammar point together with listening, a lot of speaking with conversation questions or games. While you speak, I write all the new words you need to express yourself, illustrated by pictures or translated in your language.
I do my best to make you feel comfortable to speak and for you to have a pleasant time. According to me, using humour will help you learn more easily.
Whether you need to learn French for business, integration in a French-speaking country or studying, I will be happy to help you. Do not hesitate to contact me for a free trial lesson.
Looking forward to hearing from you,
Katia
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I am really excited about Katia as my teacher. I think she is a very good teacher. And a nice person too. She customise the lessons according to my wishes what i would like to learn. She is very experienced with skype. It all runs very smoothly. I am looking forward to the next lessons and i highly recommend her as your teacher. Miriam
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Thanks for your support. I learned a lot from you and my last German test went very well. I will be happy to contact you again if I need your help again. With kind regards
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This review was written by a coLanguage team member during a manual screening of this teacher profile.
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Hello,
I am a multilingual teacher with experience in teaching French to German, Japanese, English, Bulgarian and Italian-speaking students, etc. (levels A1 to C1).
I have been teaching French for 8 years in Luxemburg and now in Bulgaria for 4 years, to teenagers, housewives, businessmen, employees, doctors, etc. I can also help you with DELF and DALF preparation. I give lessons via Skype, Zoom and Microsoft Teams in several countries.
My teaching method for each class : a grammar point together with listening, a lot of speaking with conversation questions or games. While you speak, I write all the new words you need to express yourself, illustrated by pictures or translated in your language.
I do my best to make you feel comfortable to speak and for you to have a pleasant time. According to me, using humour will help you learn more easily.
Whether you need to learn French for business, integration in a French-speaking country or studying, I will be happy to help you. Do not hesitate to contact me for a free trial lesson.
Looking forward to hearing from you,
Katia
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Great teacher who makes learning language fun. Also good at making you comfortable to speak the language already in the very beginning.
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4 - Finally I have also an extensive experience in teaching French at the primary and middle school level
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Hello everyone!
My name is Wanda, I'm 27 and I'm French.
I have a Master's Degree in Teaching French as a Foreign Language from the University of Sorbonne Nouvelle, Paris, as well as 3 years of teaching experience (face-to-face, remote courses, or group classes).
I can teach you everything from grammar to culture, but I am particularly able to help you get a better pronunciation! Indeed, I also have a Master's Degree in Linguistics, for which I wrote a thesis about the pronunciation of people learning French as a foreign language =)
Regarding pronunciation, I'll help you without any judgment and only if you express the need to improve!
I studied one year in Japan (Osaka) where I gave French classes at the University of Kansai. During this time, I met a lot of people from various background and I became very open-minded and comfortable with different cultures.
What I like the most in teaching French is getting to meet and know people from different cultures =)
So, I'll be waiting for you! =)
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Wanda is a fantastic teacher, she's always up to solve problems and doubts. She teaches from grammar to speaking, with a good emphasis on pronunciation and phonetics which are essential in French!
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Mabuhay! Magandang Araw! Kumusta ka? I am Rey Corañes. I am a licensed professional teacher and I have 4 years of teaching experience in teaching Filipino/Tagalog language. I have a degree in education and my specialization is teaching Filipino. Let me help you set your goals and have amazing results. Do you want to speak the common Filipino phrases? Do you want to learn how to converse with the people in the community? Do you want to master the grammar and have conversational practices? No worries, I am here to help you learn it all. So what are you waiting for? Book a lesson with me.
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Ray has been a teacher for four years. He taught Filipino in a private school for two years, while now he is working in a public school. Specialized in teaching for many years, in Rey you will find an experienced but at the same time young and creative teacher. His teaching methods will be based on the level of the student. He also delivers the lessons in an interactive and stimulating way, such as games.
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Rey C.Thank you so much for this review! I'm so overwhelmed.
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Bonjour! Veux-tu apprendre français? ou l'améliorer?
My classes are structured according to my students' needs, I use different teaching methods and I rely on listening each of my students' expectations and goals. Dynamism and constant learning are my purposes in my classes.
I have worked as a French teacher for more than ten years.
I have academic studies in English and French from Montréal, Canada, where I lived for several years. I have a Bachelor in Teaching French as a foreign language from the Université de Bourgogne.
I learned French at an early age in immersion in a French-speaking region and I studied French formally for 11 years, obtaining a native level.
À bientôt!
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Natalia L.Toma, your interest for the language and having learned other languages before will be very helpful for you, continue with your motivation for learning French!
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Hello everyone!
I am Manon, French by birth, currently living in Costa Rica.
I love meeting new people and I am curious to discover your life path and discuss what you are passionate about.
During a class, I take the time to take an interest in my students and help them to speak naturally.
The conversation can be about a topic you’d like to talk about, or we can use a video, an audio, or an image and discuss around this support.
I want you to feel comfortable so, no pressure, we’re here to have fun and learn.
I look forward to meeting you, so feel free to try a free trial course ;)
See you soon!
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Manon is a lovely teacher. I really enjoyed the lessons with her and learned a lot of things. Thanks again!!!
Manon R.Thank you very much Julia!! It was a real pleasure to know you, I too had a great time! Good continuation to you!
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