the subjonctif for the verb penser

Question

Bonjour,J’espère que vous allez bien !I am desperate to find out a fact!Please help!According to your site, penser may require the subjunctive, depending on whether it is used affirmatively, negatively, or interrogatively.So, I use the subjunctive for an interrogative sentence.However, when I did a petit quiz on the subjonctive, my answer was wrong.“Tu penses qu’il soit capable de réussir ?”The correct answer is “est”!But why? Because this question is informal, not “Penses-tu qu’il…”?I appreciate your information.Merci d’avance.

Accepted Answer

Bonjour Umi,
That's a really good question!
In this particular case, the sentence is a declarative question with the word order being affirmative - like in a declarative sentence.
Tu penses qu'il est capable de réussir. = You think he's able to succeed.
-> it's a fact - Indicative mood
Tu penses qu'il est capable de réussir ? = You think he's able to succeed?
-> you're highly expecting a "yes" answer - Indicative mood
Penses-tu qu'il soit capable de réussir ? = Do you think he's able to succeed?
-> interrogative sentence - You're really not sure about the answer (you have lots of doubt) - Subjunctive mood
I hope this is helpful.
Bonne journée !

Answer

Bonjour Umi,
Imagine that it is you speaking to a friend and you asking your friend their assessment of a third person's chance or possibility of success.
It is not you, the enquirer; expressing doubt. You are enquiring if your friend has this doubt/misgiving or not.
This is how I read the situation  --  I hope it helps.
Bonne journée
Jim

Answer

Bonjour Jim,Thank you for your “answer” or comment.Since lawlessfrench.com indicates:…penser may require the subjunctive, depending on whether it is used affirmatively, negatively, or interrogatively, I accept MY answer “soit” for this quiz.Best,Umi

Answer

I realise it’s not an affiliated site, but frenchtoday.com has a great article on "What is the French Subjunctive" which goes into some detail about the decision whether to use it or not, based on the probability of a positive or negative answer to a question.

Answer

Bonjour Céline,I am extremely impressed by your explanation!Thank you very much!So, what I understand is that when a question was formed in an informal way, “the feeling” is not as strong, thus, we used indicatif. And when a question is done in a formal way using inversion, it is stronger, therefore, the subjunctive is used.For example,“Tu crois qu’elle vient à la fête ce week-end ?”"Crois-tu qu’elle vienne à la fête ce week-end ?”Are they good phrases?I must say that French is compliqué!But I appreciate very much the help by the Kwiziq Team!Céline, merci infiniment pour votre input !Bien à vous,Umi