Does 'Afin Que' Need the Subjunctive?

The French term afin que means "that," "so that" or "in order that." It is used as a conjunction, and afin que requires the French subjunctive.

Example

Je le ferai afin que nous puissions partir.
I'll do it so that we can leave.

Remember, the subjunctive (le subjonctif) in the French language is not a tense — it's a mood. It is used with dependent clauses to depict a speaker's subjective perspective, like an opinion, feeling or desire.

You need to use the subjunctive when the subject of the main clause is different from the subject of the dependent clause and a relative pronoun is used to connect the two. The French subjunctive is a tricky concept and generally requires a lot of practice and memorization to get right.