French Subordinating Conjunctions List

When learning French, it’s easy to focus on verbs, nouns, and basic sentence structures. But to truly elevate your fluency, it’s essential to master this French subordinating conjunctions list. These small but important words connect ideas and help you express more complex thoughts. Whether you’re emphasizing conditions, timing, cause, or contrast, subordinating conjunctions are key tools in making your French sound natural and polished.

In this lesson, we’ll explore this French subordinating conjunctions list, their meanings, and whether they require the subjunctive or indicative mood. By the end, you’ll have a better understanding of how to use them correctly in sentences, helping you build richer and more nuanced communication skills. You can download a PDF of this lesson guide in my private French Grammar Library.

French Subjunctive After Conjunctions

Many conjunctive phrases trigger the use of the subjunctive.  Main and dependent clauses are connected by que. 

pour que	so that
afin que	so that
de sorte que	so that
de crainte que (ne)*	for fear that / lest
de peur que (ne)*	for fear that / lest
avant que (ne)*	before
en attendant que	while waiting for
jusqu’à ce que	until
bien que	although
à moins que (ne)*	unless
à condition que	on the condition that
pourvu que	provided that
quoi que	no matter what
sans que	without

* The ne explétif does not negate the sentence.  It is formal and optional. 

French Indicative After Conjunctions

Although many conjunctive phrases require the subjunctive, there are plenty that do not.  Here’s a list of some of the most common ones.

au cas où	in case
aussitôt que	as soon as
dans la mesure où	given that
d’autant plus que	especially given that
depuis que	since
dès que	as soon as
encore que	although
étant donné que	given that
lorsque	when
maintenant que	now that
même si	even if
parce que	because
pendant que	while
puisque	since, because
si bien que	so much so that
si jamais	if ever
tandis que	whereas
une fois que	as soon as
vu que	seeing that

---

---

Looking for ready-to-use classroom activities for this topic?

French Reading Comprehension Quiz Subjunctive and Indicative With Conjunctions

French Subjunctive With Conjunctions Quiz – Google Forms Quiz or Exercise

French Subordinating Conjunctions Challenge Task Cards Activity

French Subjunctive and Subordinating Conjunctions Lesson Plan