What is the subjunctive tense?

The subjunctive isn't commonplace in the English language, but is used often in French, so can be a tricky concept to grasp. The most important thing to understand about the subjunctive is that it isn't a tense, but instead a mood that describes how a subject is feeling. It's often used to describe feelings of desire, hope, fear or uncertainty (e.g. Il faut que tu fasses tes devoirs - You must do your homework). As can be seen in the previous example, the use of the subjunctive will always involve Person A wanting, hoping, fearing etc. something about Person B, in this case Person A wants Person B to do their homework. Unfortunately, the subjunctive requires a lot of memorisation. There are set expressions that the subjunctive will always follow (e.g. Il faut que, Je veux que, Il me sent que etc.). In summary, there are three main components that make up the subjunctive mood in French: 1) An expression of want, hope fear, uncertainty or other feelings 2) One or more people involved in the action3) Set phrases that will always precede the subjunctive - these must be learnt off by heartMastering these building blocks of the subjunctive and as such the subjunctive itself is a pathway to success in French A-Level as it is a complex structure that is sure to wow any examiner.