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French verbs that require or trigger the subjunctive

Here is a list of (hopefully) ALL the verbs that require the subjunctive after it.
Indicative = any other tense than the subjunctive
Subjunctive = a tense that suggests there is some doubt.
Remember that you do not need to use it when the subjects are the same and the second verb is in the present tense (although some verbs can use a past tense such as regretter). If I wanted to say "I want to do it" then "Je veux que je le fasse" is avoided and a more simpler sentence is used "je veux le faire".
Also with verbs that do not name anyone (impersonal verbs) such as il faut can be used in a similar way:
il a fallu que je le porte = I had to carry it
il a fallu le porter = I had to carry it
but if it was unclear who I meant and I used an indirect object (il m'a ...) then this would be literary.
Some verbs require à or de before another verb like regretter de + infinitive.
Je regrette de parler ... = I'm sorry that I speak ...
De is used after an adjective + infinitive:
Je suis désolé de parler ...
Some have something called a "perfect infinitive" afterwards. All this means is that you can say "have" afterwards and still avoid the subjunctive (or any clause starting with que):
Je regrette de vous avoir fait attendre = I'm sorry to have kept you waiting (here you avoid saying "je regrette que je vous aie ... ). This sentence may still look odd because vous can be a subject or an object of a sentence (vous me voyez = you are seeing me, je vous vois = I'm seeing you)
Check my table to see if a verb needs à or de.

I have listed everything in order but if you are looking for a reflexive verb (one that starts with s') then I have put it in as if the s' is not there (so 'se réjouir que' is with other words starting with r).
It is easy to miss out the 'que' when translating from English. When introducing a new subject to the sentence, you must put in 'que' e.g.
Je veux qu'il le fasse = I want him to do it (I and him are both subjects).
Note that in a relative clause (a second part of the sentence that identifies what you are talking about) that use ne... rien or ne... personne (nothing or nobody) or quelqu'un or quelque chose (someone or somebody) uses the subjunctive because you are not expressing a fact:
Je ne connais personne qui puisse parler anglais = I don't know anyone who can speak English (the doubt is that there may be someone that can)
Il n'y a rien que je puisse faire = There is nothing that I can do (the doubt is that there may be something I can do)
Y a-t-il quelqu'un qui puisse parler anglais? = Is there someone that can speak English?
J'aimerais inventer quelque chose qui charge cette pile = I'd like to invent something that will charge this battery.
In other words, if it is indefinite or negative, use the subjunctive.

Note that I use +ve = positive sentences, -ve = negative sentences and ? = a question as quick symbols or emphasis on certain verbs.
I have sometimes shown verbs in the present tense (like il est ...) but of course you can use past tenses too (il était possible que...).

Other uses trigger the subjunctive like with some conjunctions or set expressions like vaille que vaille = Somehow or other ...

Accepter que	to accept that
Accorder que	to grant, attribute, tune
Admettre que	This uses the subjunctive in certain circumstances. Can you help me with this? J'admets que vous avez raison = I admit that you are right (indicative) Admettons qu'il vienne = Let's suppose that he's coming (subjunctive) En admettant que ... + subjunctive= Assuming that ...
Adorer que	To love that
Affirmer que ? or -ve	to affirm that
Aimer que	To like that or like / not like that fact that...
Aimer mieux que	To prefer that
apprécier que	to appreciate that
arrive	il arrive on it's own can mean "he will be hear any minute". 'Il arrive que + subjunctive' means something like "it happens that ..." e.g. il arrive qu'il soit en retard = he is sometimes late
Attendre que	To wait until J'attends qu'il s'en aille = I'm waiting for him to leave
s'attendre à ce que	to expect - possibe indicative use – see croire
Avoir...	To be (literally – to have)
besoin que	need that
envie que	wish that
honte que	ashamed that
l’impression que ? or -ve	the impression that
peur que...(ne)	afraid that (non-negative ne is literary)
C'est que ? or -ve	It's that / because The subjunctive used in questions or negative sentences
ça m'ennuie que	it annoys me that but: s'ennuyer de quelqu'un / quelque chose = to miss somebody / something - or use the verb manquer s'ennuyer = to be bored Cela ne vous ennuie pas si je fume? = Do you mind if I smoke?
Ça me plaît que	I'm glad that (literally - it pleases me)
chercher ... qui	to look for This is just an example of a 'relative clause' with a negative or doubtful second part. I've included it here because it is quite common. When you have doubts that the person exists or you are using it in the negative, you use the subjunctive: Je cherche quelqu'un qui puisse parler anglais = I'm looking for someone who can speak English
commander que	to order that
comprendre que	This uses the subjunctive in certain circumstances. Can you help me with this?
connaître (quelqu'un) ... qui ? or -ve	To know (someone) that This takes the subjunctive for the same reasons that chercher does - an example of a relative clause with a negative or doubtful second part
conseiller que	to advise that
convenir	convenir means 'to agree to' Je conviens que c'est ... + indicative = I agree that it's ... but: Il convient que + subjunctive = it's advisable that ... (remember you can use past tenses with any of these verbs so you may see 'il conviendrait') Il convient que il parte tout de suite = It's advisable that he should leave right away
Craindre que...(ne)	To be afraid that (non-negative ne is literary)
Croire que ? or -ve	To believe that possible indicative use e.g. je ne crois pas qu'il pleut (fairly sure) je ne crois pas qu'il pleuve (less sure)
défendre que	To forbid that
demander que	to ask that (someone to do something)
déplorer que	to deplore that
Désirer que	To desire that
Détester que	To detest / hate that
Dire que ? or -ve	To say / tell that + indicative tense = piece of information + subjunctive = command Dites-lui que je pars = Tell him I'm leaving I believe that if you use this negatively or in a question, you use the subjunctive too (am I right?)
donner l'ordre que	to order that / to give the order that
Douter que +ve only	To doubt that This takes the subjunctive only with positive statements (the negative shows certainty e.g. 'I don't doubt you can do it' is like saying that 'I am certain you can do it')
écrire que	This uses the subjunctive in certain circumstances. Can you help me with this?
empêcher...ne que	to prevent that (someone from doing something) non-negative ne is literary
espérer que ? or -ve	To hope that
ennuyer	see "Ça m'ennuie que"
entendre que	This uses the subjunctive in certain circumstances. Can you help me with this?
S'étonner que	To be surprised
Être...	To be...
certain que-(? or -ve)	certain that (possible indicative use – see croire) The subjunctive used in questions or negative sentences
content que	glad that
désolé que	sorry that
convaincu que-(? or -ve)
enchanté que	delighted that
étonné que	astonished that
fâché que	annoyed that
heureux / heureuse que	happy that
persuadé que-(? or -ve)
ravi(e) que	delighted that
sûr que-(? or -ve)	sure that (possibe indicative use – see croire) The subjunctive used in questions or negative sentences
surpris(e) que	surprised that
triste que	sad that
éviter...ne que	to avoid (non-negative ne is literary) Évitez qu'il ne parte - Prevent him from leaving.
exiger que	to demand that
expliquer que	This uses the subjunctive in certain circumstances. Can you help me with this?
Faire que	Comment se fait-il que ..? = How is it that ..?
Faire quelque chose par crainte que	To do something out of fear that Il a fait cela par crainte qu'elle ne sache qu'il n'était pas au bureau mercredi = He did this out of fear of her knowing that he wasn’t in the office on Wednesday
garantir que ? or -ve
Il est... / Il n'est pas... C'est... / Ce n'est pas...	It is... / It isn't... This is often used in speech instead (with any adjective).Note that Il / elle est... describes a person and C'est describes a situation (as there is no noun): Il est intelligent = He is intelligent C'est étonnant = It's surprising They are generally not interchangable. They have different meaning when you use them with adverbs etc.
à souhaiter que	to be hoped that
bizarre que	odd that
bon que	good that
certain que-(? or -ve)	certain that The subjunctive used in questions or negative sentences
clair que-(? or -ve)	clear that subjunctive with negative statements and questions Il n'est pas clair que il vienne = It's not clear that he's coming
convenable que	proper/fitting that
dommage que	pity that
douteux que-(+vr)	doubtful that (subjunctive only in positive statements)
essentiel que	essential that
étonnant que	amazing that
étrange que	strange that
évident que-(? or -ve)	evident / obvious that The subjunctive used in questions or negative sentences
exact que-(? or -ve)	not correct that The subjunctive used in questions or negative sentences
faux que	false that
guère probable que	hardly likely (I'm unsure of the use of n' here) Il n’est guère probable qu’il ait dit cela = It is hardly likely that he said that
heureux que	fortunate that
honteux que	shameful that
important que	important that
impossible que	impossible that
improbable que	improbable that
indispensable que	indispensable that
inutile que	useless that
invraisemblable que	unlikely
juste que	right / fair that
naturel que	natural that
nécessaire	necessary that
normal que	normal that
peu probable que	improbable that (or hardly probable)
probable que-(? or -ve)	probable that The subjunctive used in questions or negative sentences
possible que	possible that
préférable que	preferable that
question que	I think it means there question that or talk that - also: il a été question de = we / they spoke about il est question de ... = there's talk of
rare que	rare that
regrettable que	regrettable that
souhaitable que	desirable that
sûr que-(? or -ve)	certain that The subjunctive used in questions or negative sentences
surprenant que	surprising that
(grand) temps que	(high) time that
triste que	sad that
urgent que	urgent that
utile que	useful that
vrai que-(? or -ve)	true that The subjunctive used in questions or negative sentences but in informal or everyday French, native speakers don't use the subjunctive, especially after est-ce que: Est-il vrai qu'il soit en vacances demain? = Est-ce qu’il est vrai qu’il sera en vacances demain? = Is it true that he will be on holiday tomorrow?
Il faut que	One must Il faut + noun = somebody needs something Il faut + infinitive = it is necessary to do Il faut que + subjunctive = it is necessary to do / somebody must do il faut partir = I / we etc. must leave il me faut partir = I must leave (sounds formal, use the subjunctive in speech) il faut que je parte = I must leave
Il me paraît...	It seems...
curieux que	curious that
incroyable que	incredible that
surprenant que	surprising that
Il paraît que possibly ? or -ve	It seems that - I believe if you use this in the negative or a question, you use the subjunctive. Any more information? but il me paraît que... doesn't usually take the subjunctive
Il se peut que	It is possible / It may be that
Il semble que possibly ? or -ve	It seems that + subjunctive Il semble que le concert ait été annulé = It seems that the concert has been cancelled (or use Il paraît que le concert a été annulé - no subjunctive) but 'il me semble' doesn't usually take the subjunctive (Il me semble que le concert a été annulé) although I believe if you use it this way in a negative sentence or a question, you do use it. I'm not entirely sure. Do you know?
il suffit que	all that is necessary is to ... il suffit que vous lui écriviez = all that you need to do is write to her
Il vaut mieux que	It's better that Il vaut mieux que vous restiez chez vous = It's better that you stay at home
imaginer que ? or -ve
interdire que	forbid that
le fait que	the fact that This isn't a verb but I wanted to include it here because Le fait est que ... = The fact is that ... takes the indicative
mériter que	to deserve il mérite qu'on fasse ... = he deserves people to do ...
Mettons que	Let's assume that
ne nier pas...ne que	Not to deny that e.g. je ne nie pas que... I'm not sure about this verb. I've seen a positive sentence using the subjunctive and a negative one in the indicative.
s'opposer que	to oppose that
Ordonner que	To order that
Penser que ? or -ve	To think that (possible indicative use – see croire)
permettre que	to allow / permit that
se plaindre que	This uses the subjunctive in certain circumstances. Can you help me with this?
plaire	see "Ça me plaît que" above
Préférer que	To prefer that
prétendre que	to claim that I'm not quite sure if I'm 100% correct about the translation or if the subjunctive follows
prétendre promettre que ? or -ve
proposer que	to propose that
que	Starting a sentence with this triggers the subjunctive: Qu'il dise la vérité ne fait aucun doute = That he is telling the truth is not in doubt - also in "third person" commands e.g. tell him to ... etc.
Quelle chance que	What luck that (not a verb but I wanted to include it here)
se rappler que ? or -ve
recommander que	to recommend that
redouter...ne que	to dread that (non-negative ne is literary)
refuser que	to refuse that
Regretter que	To be sorry that
Se réjouir que	To rejoice / be delighted that
Savoir que ? or -ve	to know that
Souhaiter que	To wish that
se souvenir que ? or -ve	to remember that
suffire	this means 'to be enough' but see 'il suffit' for a subjunctive use
suggérer que	to suggest that
supporter que	to bear / tolerate that elle ne supporte pas qu'on la contredise = she cannot bear being contradicted
supposer que	to suppose that (hypothesize)
Supposons que	Let's assume that
téléphoner que	This uses the subjunctive in certain circumstances. Can you help me with this?
Tenir à ce que	To insist that
tolérer que	to tolerate that
Trouver que ? or -ve	To think / find that (possibe indicative use – see croire)
Valoir mieux que	Il vaut mieux + infinitive = it's better to do Il vaut mieux dire quelque chose = it's better to say something Il vaudrait mieux dire quelque chose = I / we etc. better say something Il vaut mieux que + subjunctive = it's better to do / that somebody does Il vaudrait mieux que je ne vienne pas = It would be better if I didn't come
voir que ? or -ve
Vouloir que	To wish / want Je veux qu'il le fasse = I want him to do it
Vouloir dire que ? or -ve	to mean that

Verbs that don't take the subjunctive:
Espérer

These don't usually take the subjunctive:
il est probable que = it is probable that
il me semble
il me paraît = it seems to me

Other words that I haven't researched yet and put in the table:
il y a des chances
il y a peu de chances
peu importe
trouver bizarre
trouver normal / juste

Have you found an error or do you want to add more information to these pages?
You can contact me at the bottom of the home page.

[FRANÇAIS]

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