French grammar · Advanced
The French Past Subjunctive: When the Subjunctive Looks Backwards
The past subjunctive, le subjonctif passé, is the subjunctive of avoir or être plus a past participle: que j'aie fini, que je sois parti. You use it in exactly the same places as the present subjunctive, but for an action that is already complete when the main verb speaks.
Je suis content que tu sois venu.
I'm glad you came.
What it is
The subjunctive isn't a tense, it's a mood, and like the indicative it can point at the present or at the past. Once a trigger such as je doute que or bien que has forced you into the subjunctive, you still have to decide whether the action it introduces has happened yet. If it has, the subjunctive goes compound.
Je doute qu'il ait compris. — I doubt he understood.
How to spot it
Look for aie, aies, ait, ayons, ayez, aient or sois, soit, soyons, soyez, soient followed by a participle. Those are the two auxiliaries in the subjunctive.
- Bien qu'elle ait essayé, ça n'a pas marché. — Although she tried, it didn't work.
- Je regrette que tu n'aies pas pu venir. — I'm sorry you couldn't come.
- Il faut qu'ils soient partis avant midi. — They must have left before noon.
- C'est dommage qu'on se soit trompés. — It's a shame we got it wrong.
Ait and aient sound identical, and so do ai and aie. In writing they mark the difference between an indicative and a subjunctive, so they matter.
Past Subjunctive Quick Reference
The past subjunctive, auxiliary by auxiliary
| Verb type | Form | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| avoir verb | aie / ait / aient + participle | que j'aie fini | that I have finished |
| être verb | sois / soit / soient + participle | qu'il soit parti | that he has left |
| être verb, feminine | participle agrees | qu'elle soit partie | that she has left |
| reflexive verb | se + être subjunctive | que tu te sois levé | that you got up |
| passive | être subjunctive + participle | qu'il ait été prévenu | that he was warned |
| negative | ne … pas around the auxiliary | qu'il n'ait pas compris | that he didn't understand |
Common Past Subjunctive Examples in French
The same triggers as the present subjunctive, applied to finished actions:
Emotion About Something That Happened
- Je suis ravi que tu aies réussi.
- I'm delighted you passed.
- Elle est déçue que nous soyons partis si tôt.
- She's disappointed we left so early.
- C'est dommage qu'il ait raté son train.
- It's a shame he missed his train.
- Je suis désolé que vous ayez attendu.
- I'm sorry you had to wait.
This is the most frequent use by far. The feeling is present, the event it's about is past.
Doubt and Denial
- Je ne crois pas qu'il ait dit ça.
- I don't think he said that.
- Je doute qu'elle soit rentrée.
- I doubt she's got home.
- Il n'est pas certain qu'ils aient reçu le message.
- It isn't certain they got the message.
- Je ne pense pas que nous nous soyons déjà rencontrés.
- I don't think we've met before.
Croire and penser take the subjunctive only when negated or turned into a question. In the affirmative they take the indicative.
After Subjunctive Conjunctions
- Bien qu'il ait plu, la route est sèche.
- Even though it rained, the road is dry.
- Quoiqu'elle soit arrivée en retard, elle a tout suivi.
- Although she arrived late, she followed everything.
- Sans qu'on l'ait prévenu, il a compris.
- Without anyone having warned him, he understood.
- À moins qu'ils aient changé d'avis, ils viennent.
- Unless they've changed their minds, they're coming.
The conjunction supplies the subjunctive; the tense of the participle clause supplies the past.
Deadlines with Il Faut Que
- Il faut que j'aie fini avant vendredi.
- I have to have finished by Friday.
- Il faut que tout soit prêt à huit heures.
- Everything has to be ready by eight.
- Il faudra que nous ayons répondu avant lundi.
- We'll have to have replied before Monday.
- Il faut qu'elle soit rentrée avant la nuit.
- She has to be back before dark.
Here the past subjunctive points forwards, not backwards: the action is future but complete by the deadline.
How the Past Subjunctive Works
The construction is ordinary. The interesting part is the choice between present and past.
The Subjunctive Goes on the Auxiliary
You never conjugate the main verb in the subjunctive here. Avoir becomes aie, aies, ait, ayons, ayez, aient; être becomes sois, sois, soit, soyons, soyez, soient. The participle is the one you already know.
Je suis surpris qu'il ait accepté.
I'm surprised he accepted.
Subjunctive auxiliary + participle.
The Choice Is About Order, Not Distance
Use the present subjunctive when the action happens at the same time as the main verb or later, and the past subjunctive when it happened earlier. The main verb's own tense doesn't decide it.
Je suis content qu'il vienne demain.
I'm glad he's coming tomorrow.
Earlier → past subjunctive.
Auxiliary and Agreement Follow the Usual Rules
A verb that takes être in the passé composé takes être here, and its participle agrees with the subject. Reflexives keep their pronoun in front of the auxiliary.
Je regrette qu'elles soient parties.
I'm sorry they left.
soit partie, soient parties.
It Replaces Every Past Indicative Tense
The subjunctive has no imperfect or pluperfect in modern French, so a single past subjunctive covers what the indicative would express with a passé composé, an imparfait or a plus-que-parfait.
Bien qu'il ait été malade, il a travaillé.
Although he was ill, he worked.
One past form for all past meanings.
The Trigger Still Has to Be There
Nothing about the past form makes a subjunctive appear on its own. If the sentence has no trigger, you need an ordinary indicative: je crois qu'il est parti, not que il soit parti.
Je crois qu'il est déjà parti.
I think he's already left.
No trigger, no subjunctive.
Common Mistakes with Past Subjunctive
Incorrect: Je suis content que tu es venu. — I'm glad you came.
Correct: Je suis content que tu sois venu. — I'm glad you came.
Être content que triggers the subjunctive, so the auxiliary has to be sois rather than es. The trigger doesn't disappear just because the event is finished.
Incorrect: Bien qu'il a plu, on est sortis. — Although it rained, we went out.
Correct: Bien qu'il ait plu, on est sortis. — Although it rained, we went out.
Bien que requires the subjunctive of the auxiliary: ait, not a. This is easy to miss because a and ait are pronounced almost identically.
Incorrect: Il faut que j'ai fini avant midi. — I have to have finished by noon.
Correct: Il faut que j'aie fini avant midi. — I have to have finished by noon.
The subjunctive of avoir in the first person is aie, with a silent e. J'ai is the indicative, and after il faut que it's an error even though nobody can hear the difference.
Incorrect: Je regrette qu'elle soit parti. — I'm sorry she left.
Correct: Je regrette qu'elle soit partie. — I'm sorry she left.
With être the participle agrees with the subject, so a feminine subject needs partie. The subjunctive changes the auxiliary, not the agreement rules.
The Forms in Full
Two auxiliaries and one comparison table. Note that the subjunctive of avoir is where French hides some of its trickiest spelling.
Verbs Taking Avoir
The subjunctive of avoir is aie, aies, ait, ayons, ayez, aient. Four of those six forms are pronounced the same way.
| Pronoun | avoir (subjonctif) | + finir | + comprendre |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j' | que j'aie | que j'aie fini | que j'aie compris |
| tu | que tu aies | que tu aies fini | que tu aies compris |
| il / elle / on | qu'il ait | qu'il ait fini | qu'elle ait compris |
| nous | que nous ayons | que nous ayons fini | que nous ayons compris |
| vous | que vous ayez | que vous ayez fini | que vous ayez compris |
| ils / elles | qu'ils aient | qu'ils aient fini | qu'elles aient compris |
Que j'aie has an e that j'ai does not. It's silent, and it's the only thing marking the subjunctive in the first person.
Verbs Taking Être, and Reflexives
The participle agrees with the subject, so it picks up an e or an s exactly as it would in the passé composé.
| Pronoun | être (subjonctif) | + partir | + se lever |
|---|---|---|---|
| je | que je sois | que je sois parti(e) | que je me sois levé(e) |
| tu | que tu sois | que tu sois parti(e) | que tu te sois levé(e) |
| il / elle / on | qu'il soit | qu'elle soit partie | qu'il se soit levé |
| nous | que nous soyons | que nous soyons partis | que nous nous soyons levés |
| vous | que vous soyez | que vous soyez partis | que vous vous soyez levés |
| ils / elles | qu'ils soient | qu'elles soient parties | qu'ils se soient levés |
Que nous nous soyons levés has three words beginning with n and s in a row. It's correct, and it's why writers often rephrase.
Present vs. Past Subjunctive
Same trigger, same person, different timing. The left column is simultaneous or later; the right column is already over.
| Pronoun | subjonctif présent | subjonctif passé |
|---|---|---|
| je / j' | que je parte | que je sois parti(e) |
| tu | que tu partes | que tu sois parti(e) |
| il / elle / on | qu'il parte | qu'il soit parti |
| nous | que nous partions | que nous soyons partis |
| vous | que vous partiez | que vous soyez partis |
| ils / elles | qu'ils partent | qu'ils soient partis |
Il faut que je parte means I have to leave. Il faut que je sois parti means I have to be gone, which is a deadline rather than an action.
Three Contexts Worth Recognising
Two of these are where the past subjunctive is compulsory; the third is where French speakers quietly avoid it.
Deadlines: complete by a future point
With il faut que and similar expressions, a past subjunctive can point at the future. What it marks is completion by the stated moment, not a time already gone.
- Il faut que j'aie terminé avant son retour.
- I need to have finished before he gets back.
- Il faudrait que tout soit rangé ce soir.
- Everything ought to be tidied away this evening.
- Je veux que tu aies lu ça avant la réunion.
- I want you to have read this before the meeting.
This is the subjunctive equivalent of the future perfect, and it works the same way: the deadline is what matters.
After a superlative or le seul
French puts a subjunctive in a relative clause after a superlative, after le seul, le premier and le dernier, and after rien and personne. If the clause refers to the past, that subjunctive is a past one.
- C'est le meilleur film que j'aie vu cette année.
- It's the best film I've seen this year.
- C'est la seule erreur qu'il ait commise.
- It's the only mistake he made.
- Il n'y a personne qui soit venu m'aider.
- There's nobody who came to help me.
The indicative also occurs here and sounds more assertive: le meilleur film que j'ai vu states it as a plain fact.
What replaces it in literary French
After a main verb in the past, classical French shifted the subordinate subjunctive back to an imperfect or pluperfect subjunctive. Modern French leaves the present and past forms where they are.
- Je voulais qu'il soit parti avant midi.
- I wanted him to be gone before noon. (modern)
- Je voulais qu'il fût parti avant midi.
- I wanted him to be gone before noon. (literary)
- Bien qu'il eût compris, il ne dit rien.
- Although he had understood, he said nothing. (literary)
You only need to recognise fût and eût. Producing them belongs to a register almost nobody writes in today.
Past Subjunctive FAQs
- How do you form the past subjunctive in French?
- Put avoir or être into the present subjunctive and add the past participle: que j'aie parlé, que tu sois parti, qu'elle se soit levée. The auxiliary is the same one the verb takes in the passé composé.
- When do you use the past subjunctive instead of the present?
- When the action in the subjunctive clause happened before the main verb. Je suis content qu'il vienne is I'm glad he's coming; je suis content qu'il soit venu is I'm glad he came.
- Why is it que j'aie and not que j'ai?
- Aie is the subjunctive of avoir and ai is the indicative. The e is silent, so the difference exists only in writing, but after a trigger like il faut que only aie is correct.
- Does the past subjunctive always refer to the past?
- No. After il faut que and similar expressions it can mark completion by a future deadline: il faut que j'aie fini avant lundi, I have to have finished by Monday. What it really encodes is that the action is over by the reference point.
- Is there an imperfect subjunctive I should use instead?
- Not in modern French. The imperfect and pluperfect subjunctives exist but belong to literary writing: bien qu'il fût malade. In speech and ordinary writing, the present and past subjunctives cover everything.