The subjunctive, subjonctif, subjuntivo, ... however it is called, is not a tense as such, but a mode. It is used in Romance languages to express uncertainty, desires, unlikely thoughts, possibilty ...etc. As far as French is concerned, there are 7 modes: Indicatif (indicative), subjonctif (subjunctive), conditionnel (conditional), and impératif (imperative) are summed up as "les modes personnels" (personal modes), while infinitif (infinitive), participe (participle) and gérondif (gerund) are called "modes impersonnels". Essentially, you use each mode for a certain kind of mood you want to express. The imperative for giving orders, the indicative for making regular statements, the subjunctive a.o. for anything you doubt, the conditional for anything that comes with a certain condition (hah, hence the name), etc. http://french.about.com/od/grammar/ss/subjunctive.htm Although I by no means speak French well enough to give a profound explanation, this was more like an attempt to introduce the general concept of modes vs tenses. Hope this helps. :)