Impersonal evaluative adjectives and the subjunctive

When you need to say that something absolutely must be done, you will use adjectives like important, essentiel, nécessaire, indispensable, obligatoire, and urgent. These are classic phrases that call for the subjunctive.

The same rule applies to adjectives that express sufficiency or insufficiency, such as suffisant or insuffisant, as well as things that are helpful or unhelpful, like utile, inutile, and superflu.

Whenever you evaluate a situation based on feelings, morals, or personal opinions, the subjunctive is required. This applies to positive evaluations using words like bon, agréable, plaisant, merveilleux, and formidable.

It also applies to negative or critical evaluations using words like mauvais, désagréable, déplaisant, triste, inacceptable, ridicule, honteux, scandaleux, insupportable, and intolérable. You will also use it to express fairness or caution with juste, injuste, dangereux, and prudent.

If a situation is surprising or unusual, you still need the subjunctive. This covers words like étonnant, surprenant, incroyable, bizarre, étrange, anormal, acceptable, compréhensible, and rare.

Expressions that show a situation is not completely certain also call for the subjunctive. This includes adjectives related to possibility and doubt, such as possible, impossible, improbable, peu probable, incertain, and douteux.

You must be careful not to use the subjunctive after every impersonal expression. The subjunctive is for subjective evaluation and doubt. If the adjective expresses a high degree of certainty, clear facts, or strong probability, you must use the standard indicative mood in affirmative sentences.

For example, while possible takes the subjunctive, the word probable takes the indicative because it leans heavily toward certainty. Other adjectives that take the indicative include certain, évident, clair, vrai, and inévitable.