How to Conjugate Faire and Aller in the French Subjunctive
You know the rule: after certain expressions, French wants the subjunctive. Then you try to say “I want you to go” or “It’s important that he do it,” and your brain stalls on aller and faire. That hesitation is normal. These two verbs are common, irregular, and high-pressure — exactly the kind that disappear when you need to speak.
Quick answer: the French subjunctive forms are que je fasse, que tu fasses, qu’il fasse, que nous fassions, que vous fassiez, qu’ils fassent for faire, and que j’aille, que tu ailles, qu’il aille, que nous allions, que vous alliez, qu’ils aillent for aller.
Once you can produce those forms automatically, a huge chunk of real French opens up. You’ll also want the subjunctive of être and avoir, because they appear everywhere. We’ll cover all four here, with patterns that actually stick — and with the kind of active production practice we build into VerbPal, because recognising a table is not the same as being able to type or say the form on demand.
Why faire and aller matter so much in the subjunctive
If you only memorise a few subjunctive verbs, make these four: faire, aller, être, and avoir. They’re among the most frequent verbs in French, and they show up constantly in structures that trigger the subjunctive.
You hear them in everyday sentences like:
- Il faut que tu fasses attention. (You have to be careful.)
- Je veux qu’il aille avec nous. (I want him to go with us.)
- Bien qu’elle soit fatiguée, elle travaille. (Although she is tired, she works.)
- Je doute qu’ils aient le temps. (I doubt they have time.)
According to frequency-based studies and core-verb lists drawn from sources such as Frantext and modern learner corpora, these verbs sit near the very top of real French usage. That means you don’t need them “eventually.” You need them early.
If you still feel shaky on when French uses the subjunctive at all, our posts on indicative vs subjunctive in French and 10 French phrases that trigger the subjunctive will help. But first, lock in the forms. In VerbPal, this is exactly where we push learners toward typed recall instead of passive review, because high-frequency irregulars pay off only when you can produce them under pressure.
Pro Tip: Don’t learn these as isolated tables only. Learn them inside trigger phrases: il faut que je fasse (I have to do / make), je veux que tu ailles (I want you to go), bien qu’il soit (although he is), avant qu’elle ait (before she has).
Full subjunctive conjugation table for faire
The present subjunctive of faire is irregular. The singular and third-person plural forms use the stem fass-, while nous and vous use fassi-.
| Pronoun | Form | English |
|---|---|---|
| je | fasse | I do / make |
| tu | fasses | you do / make |
| il/elle | fasse | he/she does / makes |
| nous | fassions | we do / make |
| vous | fassiez | you (formal/plural) do / make |
| ils/elles | fassent | they do / make |
How faire appears in real sentences
- Il faut que je fasse mes devoirs. (I have to do my homework.)
- Je veux que tu fasses le dîner ce soir. (I want you to make dinner tonight.)
- Bien qu’il fasse froid, on sort. (Although it’s cold, we’re going out.)
- Il est important que nous fassions attention. (It’s important that we pay attention.)
- Je doute qu’ils fassent ça. (I doubt they’re doing that / will do that.)
The pronunciation trap
Written French makes fasse, fasses, and fassent look very different, but in speech they often sound the same. That’s one reason learners freeze: you’re trying to remember spelling and sound at once.
If pronunciation-spelling mismatch keeps tripping you up, see our posts on French pronunciation and spelling mismatch and common French spelling mistakes in the present tense. Inside VerbPal, we deliberately mix written prompts and production drills so you don’t end up with “I recognise it when I hear it” but still can’t spell fassiez when you need it.
Cheat code: think FAIRE → FASS- in the subjunctive. If you can say que je fasse (that I do / make), you can build almost the whole set. Then just remember the two longer team forms: que nous fassions (that we do / make), que vous fassiez (that you do / make). Tiny dog rule: “solo = fass-, group = fassi-.”
Pro Tip: Drill faire with high-frequency chunks, not dictionary translations: il faut que je fasse (I have to do / make), bien qu’il fasse (although he does / although it is), pour que nous fassions (so that we do / make).
Full subjunctive conjugation table for aller
The present subjunctive of aller is also irregular, but it has a very clean pattern once you see it: most forms use aill-, while nous and vous use alli-.
| Pronoun | Form | English |
|---|---|---|
| je | aille | I go |
| tu | ailles | you go |
| il/elle | aille | he/she goes |
| nous | allions | we go |
| vous | alliez | you (formal/plural) go |
| ils/elles | aillent | they go |
How aller appears in real sentences
- Je veux que tu ailles au marché. (I want you to go to the market.)
- Il faut qu’elle aille chez le médecin. (She needs to go to the doctor.)
- Pour que nous allions plus vite, prends le métro. (So that we go faster, take the metro.)
- Je suis content que vous alliez mieux. (I’m glad you’re feeling better.)
- Je ne pense pas qu’ils aillent loin. (I don’t think they’ll go far.)
The pattern you should notice
Aller looks messy until you group it like this:
- je / tu / il / ils → aille, ailles, aille, aillent
- nous / vous → allions, alliez
That split matters because many irregular subjunctive verbs behave similarly: one stem for most forms, another for nous and vous. We built VerbPal drills to surface exactly those contrasts, because adult learners usually recognise them on paper but struggle to produce them fast. Our spaced repetition engine uses the SM-2 algorithm to bring back aille vs allions right before you forget them, which is much more useful than rereading the same table five times.
Pro Tip: Practice aller in pairs: qu’il aille (that he go) vs que nous allions (that we go), qu’ils aillent (that they go) vs que vous alliez (that you go). Contrasts stick better than isolated forms.
Full subjunctive conjugation tables for être and avoir
If you’re learning faire and aller, learn être and avoir at the same time. These four form the core irregular subjunctive set for most learners.
Être in the present subjunctive
| Pronoun | Form | English |
|---|---|---|
| je | sois | I am / be |
| tu | sois | you are / be |
| il/elle | soit | he/she is / be |
| nous | soyons | we are / be |
| vous | soyez | you (formal/plural) are / be |
| ils/elles | soient | they are / be |
Examples:
- Je suis heureux qu’il soit ici. (I’m happy that he’s here.)
- Il faut que nous soyons prêts. (We have to be ready.)
Avoir in the present subjunctive
| Pronoun | Form | English |
|---|---|---|
| je | aie | I have |
| tu | aies | you have |
| il/elle | ait | he/she has |
| nous | ayons | we have |
| vous | ayez | you (formal/plural) have |
| ils/elles | aient | they have |
Examples:
- Je doute qu’elle ait raison. (I doubt she is right.)
- Il faut que vous ayez de la patience. (You need to be patient.)
faire, aller, être, avoir. These give you access to a huge percentage of common subjunctive sentences.
Studying tables passively and assuming recognition will turn into speaking. It usually doesn’t.
We cover these core irregulars alongside the rest of French verb work in VerbPal — not just the easy present-tense material, but all tenses, irregulars, reflexives, and the subjunctive. That matters because subjunctive accuracy gets much easier when your broader verb system is organised instead of fragmented.
Pro Tip: Treat these four verbs as one family. Review them together until you can switch between qu’il soit (that he be), qu’il ait (that he have), qu’il fasse (that he do / make), and qu’il aille (that he go) without translating.
When do you actually use these subjunctive forms?
Memorising forms without triggers won’t help much. You need the forms attached to the situations that require them.
Common triggers with faire and aller
Use the subjunctive after expressions of necessity, desire, emotion, doubt, and certain conjunctions:
- Il faut que… (it is necessary that…)
- Je veux que… (I want that…)
- Je suis content que… (I’m happy that…)
- Je doute que… (I doubt that…)
- Pour que… (so that…)
- Bien que… (although…)
- Avant que… (before…)
Examples:
- Il faut que tu fasses attention. (You have to pay attention.)
- Je veux qu’il aille à l’université. (I want him to go to university.)
- Je suis content que vous soyez là. (I’m glad you’re here.)
- Je doute qu’ils aient assez d’argent. (I doubt they have enough money.)
A useful shortcut: if the sentence has two different subjects and the first part expresses will, doubt, necessity, emotion, or purpose, the subjunctive is often a strong candidate.
One subtle point: English often hides the difficulty
English usually doesn’t change the verb much: “I want him to go,” “It’s important that she do it,” “I’m glad you’re here.” French does. That’s why English-speaking learners often understand the sentence but still produce the wrong form.
This is where active production matters. In VerbPal, we don’t just ask you to recognise aille when you see it. We make you produce it from the cue, because that’s what real conversation demands. If you want to move from “I know the rule” to “I can say it,” that difference matters.
Pro Tip: Memorise whole trigger chunks: il faut que + subjunctive, je veux que + subjunctive, bien que + subjunctive. Grammar sticks faster inside a frame.
The patterns that make irregular subjunctive verbs easier
You do not need to memorise every irregular verb as total chaos. French gives you patterns.
Pattern 1: one stem for most forms, another for nous and vous
This is exactly what you saw with faire and aller:
- faire → fasse, fasses, fasse, fassions, fassiez, fassent
- aller → aille, ailles, aille, allions, alliez, aillent
The same split appears in several other irregular verbs too. Once you expect it, the forms feel less random.
Pattern 2: singular and plural pronunciation often collapse
In speech, French often reduces distinctions:
- qu’il fasse (that he do / make) and qu’ils fassent (that they do / make) can sound identical
- qu’il aille (that he go) and qu’ils aillent (that they go) can sound identical
- qu’il soit (that he be) and qu’ils soient (that they be) are different, but not by much for beginners
That means listening alone won’t always teach you the paradigm. You need production practice plus spelling awareness.
Pattern 3: the highest-frequency verbs deserve disproportionate time
This is where many learners waste effort. They spend equal time on rare and common verbs. Don’t. A small set of very frequent irregulars gives you outsized returns.
If you want a broader high-frequency roadmap, our 100 most common French verbs and the most annoying French irregular verbs are good next reads.
Pro Tip: When a verb is both irregular and frequent, overlearn it. In practice, that means more retrieval reps for faire, aller, être, and avoir than for low-frequency verbs you rarely say.
If this article helped you recognise the forms but you still hesitate when speaking, that’s the exact gap we built VerbPal to close. You move from reading que je fasse and qu’il aille to producing them on demand in short, adaptive drills powered by spaced repetition. If you want structured practice beyond this article, you can start a 7-day free trial on iOS or Android.
How to memorise faire and aller without staring at tables forever
Conjugation tables help at the beginning, but they won’t make you fluent on their own. If you only reread them, you train recognition. Speaking needs retrieval.
A better 5-minute drill
- Cover the table.
- Say the trigger aloud: Il faut que… (It is necessary that…)
- Pick a subject: je, tu, il, nous, vous, ils (I, you, he, we, you all, they)
- Produce the full chunk:
- Il faut que je fasse… (I have to do / make…)
- Il faut que tu ailles… (You have to go…)
- Il faut qu’il soit… (He has to be…)
- Il faut qu’ils aient… (They have to have…)
- Switch trigger:
- Je veux que… (I want that…)
- Bien que… (Although…)
- Pour que… (So that…)
This kind of drill is far more effective than rereading. It forces your brain to retrieve the form under slight pressure, which is exactly what helps memory consolidate.
Mix persons, don’t go in order
A classic mistake is reciting:
- que je fasse (that I do / make)
- que tu fasses (that you do / make)
- qu’il fasse (that he does / makes)
- que nous fassions (that we do / make)
That feels smooth because the pattern is predictable. Real speech is not. Mix them instead:
- que vous alliez (that you go)
- qu’il fasse (that he does / makes)
- qu’ils aient (that they have)
- que nous soyons (that we are / be)
That unpredictability is why our drills inside Learn French with VerbPal are built for active production rather than passive scrolling. Lexi also pops up inside sessions with reminders when a pattern is easy to confuse — which is much nicer than discovering the mistake mid-conversation.
Use contrast sets
Practice these together:
- qu’il fait (he does / makes) vs qu’il fasse (that he do / make)
- il va (he goes) vs qu’il aille (that he go)
- il est (he is) vs qu’il soit (that he be)
- il a (he has) vs qu’il ait (that he have)
That contrast teaches your brain when the subjunctive form is different from the indicative.
Which is correct: Il faut qu’il va or Il faut qu’il aille?
Pro Tip: If you can say the full chunk faster than you can explain the rule, you’re learning the right way.
Common mistakes with faire and aller in the subjunctive
1. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
Wrong:
- Il faut qu’il va. (Incorrect: “He has to go.”)
- Je veux que tu fais ça. (Incorrect: “I want you to do that.”)
Correct:
- Il faut qu’il aille. (He has to go.)
- Je veux que tu fasses ça. (I want you to do that.)
2. Forgetting the irregular singular forms
Learners often try to regularise:
- que je fasse (correct: that I do / make)
- que je faise (wrong)
- que j’alle (wrong)
- que j’aille (correct: that I go)
3. Ignoring nous and vous
Because learners hear je and il more often, they neglect the plural forms:
- que nous fassions (that we do / make)
- que vous fassiez (that you do / make)
- que nous allions (that we go)
- que vous alliez (that you go)
But these forms matter in formal speech, writing, podcasts, interviews, and group conversation.
4. Confusing spelling with sound
French often hides person differences in pronunciation. If you only listen, you may not notice the written distinctions. If you only read, you may not build speaking speed. You need both.
If you want more on why passive study underdelivers, read why conjugation tables are slowing you down, moving French verbs from passive study to active speaking, and how to build a 10-minute French verb drill routine. We designed VerbPal around this exact problem: active recall first, then SM-2 spaced repetition to keep the forms alive long enough to become usable.
Pro Tip: Every time you learn a new subjunctive trigger, immediately pair it with all four core irregulars: que je fasse (that I do / make), que j’aille (that I go), que je sois (that I be), que j’aie (that I have).
FAQ: faire and aller in the French subjunctive
What is the subjunctive of faire in French?
The present subjunctive of faire is: que je fasse, que tu fasses, qu’il/elle fasse, que nous fassions, que vous fassiez, qu’ils/elles fassent.
What is the subjunctive of aller in French?
The present subjunctive of aller is: que j’aille, que tu ailles, qu’il/elle aille, que nous allions, que vous alliez, qu’ils/elles aillent.
Why are faire and aller irregular in the subjunctive?
They come from highly frequent verbs with historical stem changes. In modern French, the practical point is simple: you must memorise their subjunctive forms as core irregular patterns.
Do I need to learn être and avoir too?
Yes. If you’re learning irregular French subjunctive conjugations, start with faire, aller, être, and avoir. They’re extremely common and unlock a large share of real sentences.
What’s the best way to practise French subjunctive conjugation?
Use active recall, mixed-person drills, and spaced repetition. That’s exactly why we built VerbPal the way we did: you produce forms from prompts, and the app brings them back at the right interval for long-term retention. You can also browse our French conjugation tables or the VerbPal homepage if you want a structured next step.