Subjunctive or not?
A free B2 French subjunctive quiz, scored on the page. Fourteen sentences: indicative or subjunctive? The verb form is easy; knowing when to pull the trigger is the hard part.
Two moods, one blank
Fourteen French sentences stop right where the verb should be. Decide whether the trigger before the blank demands the subjunctive or leaves the indicative alone, including the après que trap that fools natives.
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How this French subjunctive quiz works
Each question gives a main clause and asks whether the que-clause takes the subjunctive. The traps are precise: je pense qu’il vient (indicative), but je ne pense pas qu’il vienne (subjunctive). Espérer takes the indicative, souhaiter the subjunctive, and après que officially takes the indicative even though half of France says the opposite. Learners fail because they hunt for a meaning-based rule when the real system is triggers: doubt, will, emotion, and certain conjunctions.
Retake it until the trigger list is instinct; the questions rotate through the expressions that actually appear in exams and conversation. The answer key explains every sentence, naming the trigger or the reason the indicative survives. For the full theory, including bien que, avant que, and the pour que family, the Learning Center covers the subjunctive in depth. Then read The French Briefing and start spotting subjunctives in real French, where they are everywhere once you see them.
When does French use the subjunctive?
After expressions of will (je veux que), emotion (je suis content que), doubt or negated opinion (je ne crois pas que), necessity (il faut que), and certain conjunctions (bien que, avant que, pour que). Certainty and declared fact keep the indicative: je sais qu’il vient.
Why does espérer not take the subjunctive?
Historical accident, but a firm one: espérer is treated as an expression of expectation, closer to certainty, so j’espère qu’il viendra. Its cousin souhaiter does take it: je souhaite qu’il vienne. You memorize the pair; there is no shortcut.
Do the French actually use the subjunctive?
Constantly. Il faut que j’y aille is said dozens of times a day across France. What natives skip is the imperfect subjunctive, which survives only in literature. The present subjunctive after the common triggers is non-negotiable spoken French.
