| Term | Definition |
|---|
| tu étais heureux qu'il soit là (the subordinate clause is in the present subjunctive because the action of the subordinate clause did not happen before the main clause. a subordinate clause can only be in the past subjunctive if the action of the subordinate clause occured before the action of the main clause. the main clause is in the imperfect because emotions are not set in time) | you were happy that he was there (informal) |
| j'étais heureux que vous fussiez là (in formal french, the imperfect subjunctive is used when subjunctive is required, when the main clause is in the past tense. both present subjunctive and past subjunctive subordinate clauses go to the imperfect subjunctive when formal, unless the action of the subordinate clause happened before the action of the main clause, in which case, the subordinate clause would be in the pluperfect subjunctive) | i was happy that you (pl) were there (formal) |
| nous étions heureux que tu aies été là (the subordinate clause is in the past subjunctive, because that is the tense used in informal french when the sentence is subjunctive, and the action of the subordinate clause happened before the action of the main clause.) | we were happy that you (sing) had been there (informal) |
| elles étaient heureux que nous eussions été là (the subordinate clause is in the pluperfect subjunctive because the main clause is in the past tense, and the action of the subordinate clause happened before the action of the main clause and the sentence is formal) | they(f) were happy that we had been there (formal) |
| Mardi, il a accepté qu'elle soit une géante. (it is PC in the main clause because the past action occured at a specific time and occured once. the subordinate clause is in the present subjunctive because for it to be in the past subjunctive, the action of the subordinate clause would have to occur before the action of the main clause.) | On Tuesday, he accepted that she is a giant. (informal) |
| Jeudi, il a accepté qu'elle soit une géant ((the subordinate clause is Still in the present subjunctive because the action of the subordinate clause did not necessarily occur before the action of the main clause) COULD THIS GO BOTH WAYS??) | on thursday, he accepted that she was a giant (informal) |
| Jeudi, Il se réjouissait qu'elle soit une géante. (the main clause is in the imperfect because it is an emotion in the past, and the subordinate clause is in the present subjunctive because in informal french, there are only 2 subjunctive tenses, and in order for it to be the past subjunctive, the action of the subordinate clause must occur before the action of the main clause. ) | On Thurday, he rejoiced that she was a giant (informal) |
| Mardi, nous acceptâmes qu'elle fusse une géante. (the main clause is in the passé simple because in formal french the passé composé goes to the passé simple. The subordinate clause is in the imperfect subjunctive because the main clause is in the past tense, and the sentence is formal, the present subjunctive itself can be formal, but only if the main clause is also present. when the main clause is in the past, and it is formal, it is an automatic imperfect subjunctive. unless the action of the subordinate clause occured before the action of the main clause, in which case, the subordinate clause would be in the pluperfect subjunctive | On Tuesday, we accepted that she is a giant. (formal) |
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