Subjonctif après "en attendant que"

Why does French use the subjunctive here? The subjunctive is the mood of uncertainty. It is for things that are not facts yet. When you are waiting for something, it hasn't happened. It is still a possibility. Maybe the bus arrives in five minutes. Maybe it arrives in ten. That little bit of "maybe" is why we use the subjunctive. It creates a "waiting zone" in your sentence. You use en attendant que to connect your current action to a future event. It requires two different subjects. You do one thing. Someone or something else does the other. It is like a relay race. You are holding the baton until the next person takes it. If you don't use the subjunctive, it sounds like a broken record to a native speaker. It is one of those small things that makes you sound much more fluent.

1. 1Building these sentences is like following a recipe. It takes three main steps:
2. 2Start with your main action. For example: Je lis (I am reading).
3. 3Add the connector: en attendant que.
4. 4Add your second subject and a subjunctive verb.
5. 5To make the subjunctive for most verbs, follow this simple trick:
6. 6Take the "ils" form of the present tense (like ils finissent).
7. 7Chop off the -ent ending.
8. 8Add these endings: -e, -es, -e, -ions, -iez, -ent.
9. 9For example, with finir (to finish):
10. 10que tu finisses (that you finish)
11. 11qu'il finisse (that he finishes)
12. 12It is like a puzzle. Once you have the pieces, you just snap them together. Don't worry about irregulars like être or avoir just yet. Start with easy verbs like parler or manger.

You will use this pattern in almost every part of your life.

• At a restaurant: "I'll drink water while waiting for the food to arrive."
• Je bois de l'eau en attendant que le plat arrive.
• At work: "I'm checking my emails until my boss calls me."
• Je vérifie mes e-mails en attendant que mon chef m'appelle.
• With friends: "Let's listen to music until they get here."
• Écoutons de la musique en attendant qu'ils arrivent.

Think of it as a way to fill the gaps in your schedule. It shows that your time is valuable. You are doing something useful while you wait. It’s also great for being polite. Instead of saying "Hurry up!", you say "I'm doing this until you are ready." It sounds much smoother!

This is the most important rule. You only use en attendant que if there are two different people involved.

If you are the one doing both things, you use a different phrase: en attendant de.

• Wrong: Je lis en attendant que je parte. (I read until I leave.)
• Correct: Je lis en attendant de partir. (I read until leaving.)

Using the "que" version for yourself sounds very robotic. It's like talking about yourself in the third person. Avoid it! Also, don't use it for simple durations where pendant que (while) works better. Use en attendant que specifically when the focus is on the expectation of an event. If you are just doing two things at once without waiting, stick to pendant que.

The biggest mistake is using the normal present tense (the indicative).

• ✗ Wrong: En attendant qu'il vient.
• ✓ Correct: En attendant qu'il vienne.

Natives will still understand you, but it’s like seeing a typo in a big headline. Another mistake is forgetting the que. You can't just say en attendant il vienne. That que is the glue!

Also, watch out for the "same subject" trap we mentioned. Many learners try to force the subjunctive when they should just use the infinitive. If the subjects are the same, keep it simple. If they are different, go for the subjunctive. Yes, even native speakers mess this up sometimes when they are tired, but you can be better than that! Think of it like a grammar traffic light. Red light for same subjects, green light for different ones.

You might know jusqu'à ce que (until). It is very similar! Both use the subjunctive.

What is the difference? Jusqu'à ce que focuses on the end point. It is about the moment the waiting stops. En attendant que focuses more on what you are doing right now during the wait.

• Je travaille jusqu'à ce qu'il vienne. (I work until the moment he arrives.)
• Je travaille en attendant qu'il vienne. (I am working while I wait for him to arrive.)

It is a subtle shift. Think of en attendant que as the "active waiting" phrase. It feels a bit more positive and productive.