French: the subjunctive, part 2: Il faut que…

Self-tutoring about French: the tutor continues with the subjunctive.

The following is according to my understanding.

I mention in yesterday’s post about the subjunctive in French. Being a verb form that expresses the speaker’s feeling about a situation, it’s used a lot. Yet, it’s used for another purpose besides: after Il faut que.

Il faut que means what comes after it must happen; the verb that follows is in the present subjunctive. An example:

Il faut que nous attendions le prochain ascenseur. (We must wait for the next elevator. Note that attendions is the subjunctive form of attendre, to wait.)

Source:

Kenney, M., Burville, V., Hickox, B., Hill, J., Potter, C. (1977). Passeport Français 8: Bonne Chance! D.C. Heath Canada Ltd.