The subjunctive, as you may already know, is a mood used to express uncertainty. This mood is very widely used in French, so much so that it has different tenses. Let’s talk about the past tense of the subjunctive mood today.
• The past subjunctive is a compound tense formed with the auxiliary (avoir or être) conjugated in the subjunctive present tense, and the past participle of the main verb.
Listen to Week 19 Day 2 Track 1
parler - que j’aie parlé
sortir - que je sois sorti
• The past subjunctive is used in a subordinating clause (that requires the subjunctive mood) to make the anteriority of the action in this clause compare to the action in the main clause.
Speaking Practice 1
Example:
Je suis désolé que tu n’aies pas pu travailler avec nous.
I am sorry you were not able to work with us.
• As you can see in the above example, the past subjunctive in the dependent clause does not imply that the main clause should be in the past tense. The rule is explained in detail in the below table.
| Main Clause’s Tense | Order of Action | Dependent Clause’s Tense |
| Present | Both action happens simultaneously. | Present subjunctive |
| Present | The dependent clause’s action happens before. | Past subjunctive |
| Past | Both actions happen simultaneously. | Present subjunctive (imperfect subjunctive (*)) |
| Past | The dependent clause’s action happens before. | Past subjunctive (pluperfect subjunctive (*)) |
(*): The imperfect and the pluperfect tenses of the subjunctive mood have almost disappeared in French nowadays, unless one is using very formal French. You will probably never have to use them yourself. Just keep them in mind if you encounter them in a novel or an old text. Normally, we just need to use the present and the past subjunctive.
• Due to its role of marking anteriority, the past subjunctive is mainly used to express regret or satisfaction:
Listen to Week 19 Day 2 Track 2
• Express regret:
C’est dommage que ... (It is a pity that)
je regrette ... (I regret)
C’est dommage qu’il n’ait pas réussi l’examen.
It is a pity that he didn’t succeed on the exam.
• Express satisfaction:
C’est bien que ... (It is good that)
Ça me fait plaisir que ... (I’m pleased that)
C’est bien que tu aies pu finir le travail avant le délai.
It was good that you could finish the work before the deadline.
Speaking Practice 2
Dialogue:
Additional Vocabulary:
Listen to Week 19 Day 2 Track 4
| les membres | limbs | Ses membres étaient déjà blessés. | Her limbs were injured already. |
| la cheville | ankle | Il s'est coupé la cheville profondément. | He cut his ankle deeply. |
| l'aisselle (f.) | armpit | Il mettait toujours le journal sous son aisselle. | He always put the newspaper in his armpit. |
| le mollet | calf | Masser doucement le mollet peut également desserrer le muscle. | Gently massaging the calf may also loosen the muscle. |
| le coude | elbow | Sa cicatrice sur son coude gauche est très visible. | His scar on his left elbow is very visible. |
| le doigt | finger | Je me suis foulé le doigt en jouant au baseball. | I sprained my finger while playing baseball. |
| l’ongle (m.) | fingernail | Je ne peux pas garder mes ongles longs. | I can't keep my fingernails long. |
| le poing | fist | Il l'a frappé avec son poing droit. | He punched him with his right fist. |
| l’avant-bras (m.) | forearm | Le coude donne aux avant-bras une bonne flexibilité. | The elbow gives the forearms good flexibility. |
| les talons (m.pl.) | heels | Mes talons me font mal à force de marcher. | My heels hurt from walking. |
| le genou | knee | Peter s'est blessé au genou en tombant. | Peter hurt his knee when he fell. |
| le tibia | shin | Le cheval lui a donné un coup de pied sur le tibia. | The horse kicked him hard on the shin. |
| l’épaule (f.) | shoulder | Tu peux pleurer sur mon épaule. | You can cry on my shoulder. |
| la cuisse | thigh | Il a été touché à la cuisse lors de l'accident. | He was hit in the thigh during the accident. |
| le pouce | thumb | Mon petit frère aime sucer son pouce quand il a faim. | My little brother likes to suck his thumb when he's hungry. |
| l'orteil (m.) | toe | Mon orteil était engourdi après des heures de marche dans la neige. | My toe was numb from hours of walking in the snow. |
| le poignet | wrist | Je pense qu'elle m'a cassé le poignet. | I think she broke my wrist. |
Speaking Practice 3
A Quick Recap of this Lesson-
Un petit résumé de la leçon
Sharpen Your Knowledge with Exercises
Exercise 1
Exercise 2
Questions about the dialogue:
Responses