Copy of Week 17, Day 5: The Subjunctive Mood and Seeing the Doctor

What you will learn today:

The Subjunctive Mood and Seeing the Doctor.

Ce que vous allez apprendre aujourd’hui:

Le mode subjonctif / Chez le médecin.

Before this lesson, we learned about the indicative mood (present, simple future, perfect tense…) and the imperative mood (to give an order). Today, we will learn about a new mood of verbs in French -- the subjunctive mood.

The subjunctive is a grammatical mood that is found in different languages, including English and French. When it comes to frequency of usage, however, it is much more widely used in French than in English.

The subjunctive is used to express varied states of unreality or uncertainty, like some kind of judgment, wish, possibility, opinion, doubt, emotion, or something that has not occurred yet.

You need to remember two things when it comes to what the subjunctive means:

Subjectivity + unreality.

Subjectivity consists in expressing an emotion or opinion.

Example: Je suis content que tu sois là (I am happy that you are around)

Unreality implies a 50 % chance that something will happen.

Example: Il est possible qu’il soit là demain (It is possible/it may happen that he will be here tomorrow.)

A 50 % chance is what characterizes the subjunctive mood.

VS

There is a high probability that he will be there.

We will generally find a 70 % chance in the indicative mood.

Let's continue with the conjugation. The rule is similar to other tenses in French. You have to identify the radical (stem) and then add the ending. Let's do it step by step.

❑ The stem of the verb in subjunctive is formed as detailed below:

Here is an example: penser 

❑ For nous, vous, the term is formed by dropping the -ons from the first person plural (nous) of the present tense.

Example : verb cueillir (to pick)

Cueillir → Nous cueillons → cueill-

The endings of subjunctive are given in the table below:

Before this lesson, we learned about the indicative mood (present, simple future, perfect tense…) and the imperative mood (to give an order). Today, we will learn about a new mood of verbs in French -- the subjunctive mood.

The subjunctive is a grammatical mood that is found in different languages, including English and French. When it comes to frequency of usage, however, it is much more widely used in French than in English.

The subjunctive is used to express varied states of unreality or uncertainty, like some kind of judgment, wish, possibility, opinion, doubt, emotion, or something that has not occurred yet.

You need to remember two things when it comes to what the subjunctive means:

Subjectivity + Unreality.

Subjectivity = expressing an emotion or opinion.

Example: Je suis content que tu sois là (I am happy that you are around)

Unreality = 50% chance that something will happen

Example: Il est possible qu’il soit là demain (It is possible/ it may happen that he will be here tomorrow.)

50% chance = Subjunctive mood

VS

There is a high probabilty that he will be there.

70% chance = Indicative mood.

Let's continue with the conjugation. The rule is similar to other tenses in French. You have to identify the radical (stem) and then add the ending. Let's do it step by step.

❑ The stem of the verb in subjunctive is formed as detailed below:

Here is an example: penser 

❑ For nous, vous, the term is formed by dropping the –ons from the first person plural (nous) of the present tense.

Example : verb cueillir (to pick

Cueillir →nous cueillons →cueill

Let's try those endings using another -er verb, aimer.

que j’aime

que tu aimes

qu’il aime

que nous aimions

que vous aimiez

qu’ils aiment

Essayons de conjuguer un autre verbe en -er : aimer.

Que j’aime

Que tu aimes

Qu’il aime

Que nous aimions

Que vous aimiez

Qu’ils aiment

Let's do a quick review of the conjugation using regular -er, -ir, and -re verbs:

Faisons un rapide récapitulatif pour les verbes réguliers en -er, -ir et -re : Que...

Tip: The conjugation of "nous," "vous" in subjunctive, is exactly identical to the forms of the imperfect tense.

❑ There are some verbs that have irregular stems. Let's take a look at some of the most important verbs "avoir" and "être."

Remarque : les formes du subjonctif pour les personnes nous et vous sont identiques à celles de l’indicatif imparfait

❑ Certains verbes ont un radical irrégulier. Voyons d’abord les plus importants d’entre eux, et d’abord : avoir et être.

Ready for a couple more irregular verbs? Let's take a look at the verbs venir and obtenir as well and take note of the stem changes.

Prêt pour deux autres verbes irréguliers ? Jetons un coup d’œil aux verbes venir et obtenir, et notons les modifications de leurs radicaux ;

Seeing the Doctor

Sometimes, despite all the precautions we take, we still fall victim to ailments and diseases. When you are in a French-speaking country, it can be difficult to explain clearly what you are feeling and describe the symptoms you are experiencing, as well as understand the advice the doctor is giving you.

So, for this lesson, we will take a look at sample scenarios involving a doctor. We will also be learning about vocabulary related to certain diseases.

To start, here are some common phrases you will need when expressing which part of your body hurts:

❑ J’ai mal... This sentence could mean something along the lines of "I am in pain" or "I hurt..."

Follow it up with the prepositions à la/au/aux/à l’ and then the noun you need with its correct gender and number.

Some examples:

Visite chez le médecin

Parfois, malgré les toutes les précautions que nous pouvons prendre, nous tombons malades ou souffrons de certains maux. Alors, lorsque vous vous trouvez dans un pays francophone, vous pouvez avoir du mal à expliquer clairement ce que vous ressentez ou avez comme symptômes, et à comprendre les conseils du médecin.

Donc, dans ce cours, nous allons voir des exemples de scénarios faisant intervenir un médecin.
Nous apprendrons aussi du vocabulaire sur certaines maladies.

Et pour commencer, voici quelques phrases courantes dont vous aurez besoin pour expliquer quelle partie de votre corps vous fait mal :

❑ J’ai mal… Cette phrase est l’équivalent de I am in pain ou I hurt

o Faites la suivre de la préposition à la/au/à l’. Puis vous ajouterez le nom de la partie du corps, en
veillant au genre et au nombre.

Quelques exemples :

❑ Feminine, singular: J'ai mal à la tête (My head hurts/I have a headache)

❑ Masculine, singular: J'ai mal au pied. (My foot hurts.)

❑ Plural, regardless of gender: J'ai mal aux yeux. (My eyes hurt.)

❑ Nouns beginning with a vowel: J'ai mal à l'œil droit. (My right eye hurts.)

   o To help with this, you will need to review the vocabulary related to body parts. You can check it out in the third volume of this series.

❑ Féminin singulier : J'ai mal à la tête (My head hurts/ I have a headache)

❑ Masculin singulier : J'ai mal au pied. (My foot hurts.)

❑ Pluriel, quel que soit le genre : J'ai mal aux yeux. (My eyes hurt.)

❑ Noms qui commencent par une voyelle : J'ai mal à l'œil droit. (My right eye hurts.)

   o Pour vous aider, revoyez le vocabulaire sur le corps humain (3ème volet de cette série)

❑ Je suis allergique à... Use this to discuss your allergies. Below are some common allergens:

o aux abeilles (bees)

o aux fruits de mer / aux coquillages (seafood/shellfish)

o au blé (wheat)

o aux noix et aux fruits secs (nuts and dried fruits/nuts)

o aux cacahuètes (peanuts)

o aux fraises (strawberries)

o au gluten (gluten)

Now, for some sample scenarios:

❑ Je suis allergique à… Employez cette expression pour parler de vos allergies. Les allergènes les plus courants sont les suivants :

o aux abeilles (bees)

o aux fruits de mer/aux coquillages (seafood/shellfish)

o au blé (wheat)

o aux noix et aux fruits secs (nuts and dried fruits/nuts)

o aux cacahuètes (peanuts)

o aux fraises (strawberries)

o au gluten (gluten)

Maintenant, voyons quelques scénarios:

Let's look at more vocabulary related to diseases, starting with the common symptoms:

Voyons un peu plus de vocabulaire sur les maladies, en commençant avec les symptômes les plus courants:

Here are more examples to help you remember the vocabulary better:

Voici plus d’exemples pour vous aider à mieux mémoriser le vocabulaire:

❑ Il a mal au ventre. Peut-être il a mangé trop de chocolat.

He has a stomach ache. Maybe he ate too much chocolate.

❑ J'ai toujours le nez bouché, c'est pour cela que je perds le sommeil.

I always have a stuffy nose; that’s why I lose sleep.

❑ Il tousse beaucoup quand il fait froid.

He coughs a lot when it's cold.

To understand better what the doctor may say, here are the names of some common diseases.

❑ Il a mal au ventre. Peut-être il a mangé trop de chocolat.

He has a stomach ache. Maybe he ate too much chocolate.

❑ J'ai toujours le nez bouché, c'est pour cela que je perds le sommeil

I always have a stuffy nose; that’s why I lose sleep.

❑ Il tousse beaucoup quand il fait froid.

He coughs a lot when it's cold.

Pour mieux comprendre ce que le médecin dira, voici le nom de quelques maladies courantes.

Finally, here is some vocabulary related to drugs:

Et enfin, voilà un peu de vocabulaire sur les médicaments: