FlexiLingoIn one line
Je pense quetakes the indicative butJe ne pense pas quetakes the subjunctive — and that difference is tested in exams.
Phrases
A plain opinion
| French | Pronunciation | English | Register |
|---|---|---|---|
Je pense que… | /ʒə pɑ̃s kə/ | I think that | neutral |
Je crois que… | /ʒə kʁwa kə/ | I believe that | neutral |
Je trouve que… | /ʒə tʁuv kə/ | I find that | personal view |
À mon avis, … | /a mɔ̃.n‿a.vi/ | in my opinion | neutral |
Selon moi, … | /sə.lɔ̃ mwa/ | in my view | written |
D'après moi, … | /da.pʁɛ mwa/ | as I see it | neutral |
Pour moi, … | /puʁ mwa/ | for me | spoken |
Personnellement, … | /pɛʁ.sɔ.nɛl.mɑ̃/ | personally | emphatic |
Je dirais que… | /ʒə di.ʁɛ kə/ | I'd say that | cautious |
J'ai l'impression que… | /ʒe lɛ̃.pʁɛ.sjɔ̃ kə/ | I get the impression that | impression |
Il me semble que… | /il mə sɑ̃bl kə/ | it seems to me that | cautious |
A firm opinion
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
Je suis convaincu(e) que… | /ʒə sɥi kɔ̃.vɛ̃.ky kə/ | I'm convinced that |
Je suis sûr(e) que… | /ʒə sɥi syʁ kə/ | I'm sure that |
Il est évident que… | /il ɛt e.vi.dɑ̃ kə/ | it is obvious that |
Il ne fait aucun doute que… | /il nə fɛt o.kœ̃ dut kə/ | there is no doubt that |
C'est clair que… | /sɛ klɛʁ kə/ | it's clear that |
A cautious opinion
| French | English | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
Il se peut que… + subjunctive | it may be that | /il sə pø kə/ |
Il est possible que… + subjunctive | it's possible that | /il ɛ pɔ.sibl kə/ |
J'ai tendance à penser que… | I tend to think that | /ʒe tɑ̃.dɑ̃s a pɑ̃.se kə/ |
On pourrait dire que… | one could say that | /ɔ̃ pu.ʁɛ diʁ kə/ |
Dans une certaine mesure, … | to some extent | /dɑ̃.z‿yn sɛʁ.tɛn mə.zyʁ/ |
Peut-être que… | perhaps | /pø.tɛtʁ kə/ |
Asking for an opinion
| French | Pronunciation | English | Register |
|---|---|---|---|
Qu'en pensez-vous ? | /kɑ̃ pɑ̃.se vu/ | what do you think of it? | formal |
Tu en penses quoi ? | /ty ɑ̃ pɑ̃s kwa/ | what do you reckon? | informal |
Quel est votre avis ? | /kɛl ɛ votʁ a.vi/ | what's your opinion? | formal |
Vous êtes d'accord ? | /vu.z‿ɛt da.kɔʁ/ | do you agree? | neutral |
Qu'est-ce que tu en dis ? | /kɛs.kə ty ɑ̃ di/ | what do you say? | informal |
Et vous, qu'est-ce que vous en pensez ? | /e vu kɛs.kə vu.z‿ɑ̃ pɑ̃.se/ | and you, what do you think? | returning the question |
The tense rule
| Structure | Mood | Example |
|---|---|---|
Je pense que /ʒə pɑ̃s kə/ | indicative | Je pense qu'il est là. /ʒə pɑ̃s kil ɛ la/ |
Je ne pense pas que /ʒə nə pɑ̃s pa kə/ | subjunctive | Je ne pense pas qu'il soit là. /ʒə nə pɑ̃s pa kil swa la/ |
Penses-tu que…? /pɑ̃s.ty kə/ | subjunctive (formal) | Penses-tu qu'il soit là ? /pɑ̃s.ty kil swa la/ |
Tu penses qu'il…? /ty pɑ̃s kil/ | indicative (spoken) | Tu penses qu'il est là ? /ty pɑ̃s kil ɛ la/ |
Il est possible que /il ɛ pɔ.sibl kə/ | subjunctive | …qu'il vienne. /kil vjɛn/ |
Il est probable que /il ɛ pʁo.babl kə/ | indicative | …qu'il viendra. /kil vjɛ̃.dʁa/ |
Il est certain que /il ɛ sɛʁ.tɛ̃ kə/ | indicative | …qu'il est là. /kil ɛ la/ |
The same applies to
croireandtrouver. The full list of triggers is insubjonctif-declencheurs.English changes nothing here — "I don't think he is here" keeps the same verb form — which is exactly why this rule has to be applied consciously.
Building a complete opinion
In an exam, a bare opinion scores little. This structure is complete:
| Step | Example | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| 1. position | À mon avis, le télétravail est une bonne chose. | /a mɔ̃.n‿a.vi lə te.le.tʁa.vaj ɛ.t‿yn bɔn ʃɔz/ |
| 2. reason | En effet, il permet de gagner du temps. | /ɑ̃.n‿e.fɛ il pɛʁ.mɛ də ɡa.ɲe dy tɑ̃/ |
| 3. example | Par exemple, je ne passe plus deux heures dans les transports. | /paʁ ɛɡ.zɑ̃pl ʒə nə pas ply dø.z‿œʁ dɑ̃ le tʁɑ̃s.pɔʁ/ |
| 4. limit | Cependant, il peut créer de l'isolement. | /sə.pɑ̃.dɑ̃ il pø kʁe.e də li.zol.mɑ̃/ |
| 5. summing up | En somme, tout dépend de l'équilibre. | /ɑ̃ sɔm tu de.pɑ̃ də le.ki.libʁ/ |
Step four matters most. An opinion that acknowledges the other side signals B1 level and above.
Traps
| Trap | Explanation |
|---|---|
Je pense que indicative, its negative subjunctive | The most frequent error in this area. |
Je suis d'accord, not a translation of "I agree" | And être d'accord avec for a person, sur for a topic. |
Selon moi is written register | In speech, Pour moi or À mon avis is more natural. |
Je crois means both "I think" and "I believe" | Context decides. |
Il me semble que takes the indicative | But Il semble que takes the subjunctive. The difference is that me. |
avis is masculine | à mon avis — and its plural is des avis. |
Repeating je pense que | More than twice in one text counts as weakness. Vary it. |
The second row deserves expanding, because it produces a sentence that is wrong in an obvious way. English "agree" is a verb: "I agree", "I agreed", "do you agree?" French has no such verb in this sense.
Je suis d'accordis literally "I am in agreement" —êtreplus a fixed phrase.❌
J'agree· ❌Je accorde✅Je suis d'accordAnd note the prepositions:
d'accord avec toifor a person,d'accord sur ce pointfor a topic.
Why the negative brings the subjunctive
because the assertion is withdrawn
The indicative signals that the speaker is asserting the proposition:
Je pense qu'il est là.— I am saying he is there
The negative withdraws that assertion — nothing is being put forward any more:
Je ne pense pas qu'il soit là.— I am not putting forward his being there
And the subjunctive marks exactly that.
The same applies to questions, in formal writing:
Pensez-vous qu'il soit là ?— because a question asserts nothing either
But in speech, a plain question takes the indicative:
Tu penses qu'il est là ?— natural and correct
So there are three levels:
| Level | Mood |
|---|---|
| positive | indicative — always |
| negative | subjunctive — always |
| question | subjunctive in formal writing, indicative in speech |
The exam point: in writing, always use the subjunctive after Je ne pense pas que. This is one of the few things an assessor looks for directly.
And if you are unsure, rewrite the sentence — a move English makes anyway:
Je ne pense pas qu'il soit là.→Je pense qu'il n'est pas là.
The second is equally correct, uses the indicative, and carries no risk. English does the same thing in reverse — "I don't think he's here" is preferred over "I think he isn't here" — so you are simply choosing the other option.