Different grammar for "après que" and "avant que"?

William S.C1Kwiziq community member

Different grammar for "après que" and "avant que"?

Après que uses the indicative while the avant que uses the "ne" plus subjunctive. They appear to express similar thought, after and before. Perhaps there is a difference sense in French. Thoughts.

This question relates to:French lesson "Avant que + ne explétif + the subjunctive mood (Le Subjonctif) = Before I do in French"

Asked 8 years ago

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LauraKwiziq EditorCorrect answer

Bonjour William, They seem similar, but they're not: "after you do something" is a factual statement, because it has already happened. In contrast, "before you do something" is a hypothesis: it may or may not happen. Therefore French requires the indicative with the factual après que, but the subjunctive with the hypothetical avant que.

Like38 years ago

William S. asked:

Different grammar for "après que" and "avant que"?

Après que uses the indicative while the avant que uses the "ne" plus subjunctive. They appear to express similar thought, after and before. Perhaps there is a difference sense in French. Thoughts.

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