Languages › French Does 'Avant Que' Need the Subjunctive? Share Flipboard Email Print Matteo Colombo/Getty Images French Grammar Pronunciation & Conversation Vocabulary Resources For Teachers By ThoughtCo Updated April 08, 2019 The French term avant que means "before." It is a conjunction, and it requires the subjunctive. Examples Cache le cadeau avant qu'il ne le voie.Hide the gift before he sees it. Je le ferai avant que tu ne partes.I'll do it before you leave. Avant que uses the ne explétif, which is why ne appears after avant que in the examples above. The ne is often omitted in informal, spoken French. Cite this Article Format mla apa chicago Your Citation ThoughtCo. "Does 'Avant Que' Need the Subjunctive?" ThoughtCo, Aug. 27, 2020, thoughtco.com/does-avant-que-need-subjunctive-1369107. ThoughtCo. (2020, August 27). Does 'Avant Que' Need the Subjunctive? Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/does-avant-que-need-subjunctive-1369107 ThoughtCo. "Does 'Avant Que' Need the Subjunctive?" ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/does-avant-que-need-subjunctive-1369107 (accessed April 23, 2021). copy citation