Subjunctive vs Indicative in French: WEIRDO Triggers and Conjunctions

You’ve probably already learned how to conjugate verbs in the indicative and subjunctive moods. But knowing how to form them is only half the battle. The real challenge is knowing when to use each one.

The indicative is the mood French normally uses to state facts, describe events, and express beliefs about reality. The subjunctive often appears when a sentence expresses a wish, emotion, doubt, judgment, or necessity.

And here’s the tricky part: the subjunctive doesn’t necessarily mean something is uncertain or untrue. You can be delighted about something that definitely happened and still need the subjunctive!

The key is to recognize the words and constructions that require each mood. Let’s start with the most common ones.

The subjunctive commonly appears in a second part of a sentence introduced by que (that). Compare:

Both sentences use que, but the first reports what you know, while the second expresses what you want. The first verb matters: savoir introduces knowledge, while vouloir introduces a wish. That first expression determines the mood of the verb after que.

Same Person or Different People?

If the same person is doing both actions, French normally uses an infinitive instead of que + subjunctive.

In the first sentence, I’m the one who wants to leave. In the second, I want someone else to leave. This pattern is especially common with verbs expressing desires, preferences, and intentions.

So which expressions require the subjunctive? You may remember WEIRDO from the Present Subjunctive lesson. It’s a handy acronym for six common categories: Wishes, Emotions, Impersonal expressions, Recommendations or requests, Doubt or denial, and Obligation.

The common thread is that these expressions convey a wish, feeling, judgment, recommendation, doubt, or obligation rather than simply reporting information. Your strategy: look at the expression introducing the que clause. If it’s a subjunctive trigger, use the subjunctive.

The Espérer Exception

One important exception is espérer que (to hope that). Although it expresses a wish, it takes the indicative (present or future) in affirmative sentences.

Compare that with souhaiter que, which takes the subjunctive:

Both express hope, but they follow different grammatical patterns.

Certainty Takes the Indicative

Not every impersonal expression is a trigger. Expressions of truth, certainty, or likelihood present information as fact, so they take the indicative.

The classic pair is possible vs. probable: a possibility takes the subjunctive, but a likelihood takes the indicative.

Some expressions change mood depending on whether they’re affirmative or negative. Croire que (to believe that) and penser que (to think that) use the indicative in affirmative sentences. Negate that belief, and French normally uses the subjunctive:

The mood isn’t determined by whether the situation is actually true. It’s determined by how the speaker presents it: negating a belief turns the second clause into something doubted rather than stated. Not every negative expression triggers the subjunctive, though. The pattern depends on the verb or expression you’re using.

Present vs. Past Subjunctive

The same expressions can also introduce the past subjunctive when the action is already completed. Compare:

Both sentences express an emotion, so both need the subjunctive. The difference is whether her arrival has already happened.

The past subjunctive is the subjunctive of avoir or être + a past participle, much like the passé composé, with the same choice of avoir or être:

And here’s an important twist: the action doesn’t have to be in the past relative to now. It just has to be completed before something else:

The trigger tells you whether you need the subjunctive. The timing of the action tells you whether to use the present or past form.

Conjunctions connect different parts of a sentence, showing when something happens, what someone wants to achieve, or why something happens despite an obstacle. In French, some conjunctions require the subjunctive, while others take the indicative.

Before and Until

Avant que (before) and jusqu’à ce que (until) both require the subjunctive.

Both connect an action to another event that hasn’t happened yet at the time being discussed.

Purpose: Pour Que and Afin Que

Use the subjunctive after pour que (so that) and the more formal afin que when expressing the purpose of an action.

Contrast: Bien Que

Bien que (although) requires the subjunctive, even when the situation being described is definitely true.

The subjunctive doesn’t mean we’re questioning whether he’s tired. It’s required by bien que.

The same conjunctions can also introduce completed actions:

The conjunction still triggers the subjunctive, whichever subjunctive tense you use.

Conditions: À Condition Que and À Moins Que

Use the subjunctive after à condition que (provided that) and à moins que (unless).

In writing, you’ll often see an extra ne after à moins que and avant que (à moins qu’il ne pleuve). It’s optional and doesn’t make the sentence negative.

Not every conjunction requires the subjunctive. Quand, lorsque (when), and dès que (as soon as) take the indicative, and for future events they take the future:

Before vs. After

One especially useful contrast is avant que vs. après que.

In standard French, avant que requires the subjunctive, while après que takes the indicative. You may hear the subjunctive after après que in everyday speech, but the indicative is the standard form to learn.

Same Person vs. Different People

The rule from Section 1 applies to conjunctions too. When the same person performs both actions, French uses a preposition + infinitive instead of a conjunction with que:

For more on these time expressions, see the Time Connectors guide.