subjonctif

[mamour]

Hi Thomas!!!! is there a Subjonctif mode in English?
Je ne veux pas que vous manquiez la difference?

[John Doe]

Answer?

[Thomas]

Yes, in fact, there is a subjunctive! Unfortunately, it was not used very well. One of the most common examples is "I wish that I were..." -- normally, we say "I was", of course -- and it is used for similar reasons as in French, but the actual cases where you use it are different (sometimes -- some of them are the same).

I do plan on discussing it in several lessons some day, but if you have any specific questions in the meantime feel free to ask. Also, I read through that Wikipedia article (thanks John Doe ), it's pretty good at showing many of the different forms. In reality, many Americans do not use the subjunctive much, or use it incorrectly when they do

[mamour]

thanks for your explanation!!!even if the john doe's explanation is a little bit complicated for my mind!!!

[John Doe]

It's not me, it's wikipedia!

[Joëlle]

Can I say ? : If I were you.... Si j'étais à ta place ou traduit littéralement "si j'étais toi"

[John Doe]

C'est un peu la même chose non?

[Joëlle]

ah bon ?

[Thomas]

If I were you, that's a perfect example.

Here's the difference between "If I were you" and "Si j'étais à ta place", though:

English Past tense	English Subjunctive	French Past tense	French subjunctive
I was	I were*	J'étais	Je sois
You were	You were	Tu étais	Tu sois
He/She was	He/She were*	Il/Elle était	Il/Elle soit
We were	We were	Nouse étions	Nous soyons
		Vous étiez	Vous soyez
They were	They were	Ils/Elles étaient	Ils/Elles soient

*notable differences between English past tense and subjunctive

Looking at the two languages, comparing the two conjugations, in French, it's super easy to tell if a verb is in imparfait or subjonctif. In English, because there are fewer conjugations for each verb, there are several overlaps between tenses, and this is one of them.

The "if + [hypothetical situation]" phrase takes a different mood in the two languages. In French, it takes the imparfait de l'indicatif. In English, it takes the present subjunctive. It's an interesting difference between the two languages ("interesting" at least if you enjoy grammar ), and one worth noticing.

[John Doe]

Thx for the explanation 

[Joëlle]

Thank you Thomas for the comparaison of the tenses between French and English. It was very clear and useful for comprehension. And thanks a lot for the podcast " Expression 8". Have a nice day. Hope my encouragement will make your day... do you see what a mean ?

[mamour]

thank you for your explanation 

[Thomas]

Haha, good one Joelle