Professional Documents
Culture Documents
WEDDINGS is a mnemonic device that can help you recall the main points
concerning the subjunctive. What are some of the essential components of
a wedding?
First, there are always two people who get married at a wedding. And just
like a wedding, the subjunctive requires two different subjects in two
different clauses.
Remember that there are also certain other conjunctions which always require the subjunctive.
And finally, the wedding party (the bride and groom and parents and friends) often run the gamut of emotions during the
marriage ceremony: doubt, happiness, sadness, desire. Similarly, the subjunctive is a mood that indicates a
speaker's attitude or opinion about the events expressed. The use of the subjunctive is often triggered by an expression
of emotion.
In summary, remember that a wedding always contains the following: two different people (subjects) joined by a
ring (que) in an emotion-laden context! The different categories that describe the contexts for the subjunctive spell
out weddings:
GENERAL STATEMENTS Tex, mon cher, il faut que tu saches que la vie est courte.
5. Tex : Y a-t-il un poète qui _________ plus fin que moi? (être)
6. Tammy : Je ne suis pas sûre que Tex _______ faire la cuisine. (savoir)
7. Fiona : Il est important que tu ___________ un cours intéressant. (choisir)
© 2004 • department of french & italian • liberal arts ITS • university of texas at austin updated: 27 May 04