Grammar – Why focusing on learning through grammar classes isn’t the best approach

An encounter with the French subjunctive

Students aiming to perfect their French often consider the subjunctive the holy grail of language learning.

The irony is that people use it consistently without thinking about it but struggle with the elegant usage of verbs such as “falloir” and “avoir.” However, the fact that these verbs are harder to retain and more complex to memorize suggests that they are not as frequently used in the present subjunctive tense.

Whether it’s the subjunctive, the present, imperfect, future, etc., students—beginners or advanced—make mistakes with everyday verbs such as “être,” “avoir,” “devoir,” and “falloir.” Verbs such as “être” are among the most complex in French, with arguably three to five hundred different functions.

Some French speakers—often from older generations—tend to have a deep attachment to their language and lament its perceived decline. They’ve been saying so for the last 400 years and will continue to do so for the next 400.

Incidentally, this is not unique to French—English speakers, Spanish speakers, and others express the same concerns about their languages.

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The French subjunctive

I once had a prospective student, with an excellent command of French, come in for an assessment and discussion of their learning objectives. They told me they needed grammar because they lacked many aspects of French, especially the subjunctive. They specifically said:

“Il faut que j’apprenne le subjonctif.” (I need to learn the subjunctive.)

They went on to explain that their mother-in-law had told them they needed to learn it, adding multiple justifications and emphasizing “that,” “this,” and “that that” in French—awkwardly stringing together sentences with “que” in the process.

Funnily enough, this wasn’t the first student to mention a mother-in-law criticizing their French.

Side note / explanation: “Il faut que j’apprenne le subjonctif.”

• “Il faut que” is an expression of necessity, which always triggers the subjunctive.
• “j’apprenne” is the subjunctive form of the verb apprendre (to learn).

I told them it wasn’t crucial to learn all the rules behind it, but rather to internalize sentence structures that naturally lead to the subjunctive so they could use it intuitively.

Yet, despite forming grammatically correct sentences using “que,” they insisted that learning the grammar of the subjunctive was vital because they didn’t know how to use it—which, ironically, they were already doing.

For French speakers, or people who have studied French, the irony here is obvious—they were freely using the subjunctive while claiming they didn’t know it.

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One of the biggest issues for language learners is the fear of making mistakes. This often leads to a need for validation. If people—especially mother-in-laws—taunt others for their “poor” command of a language, this can damage confidence even further.

The reality? Many of those who feel it’s their duty to correct others often have little understanding of how languages actually work. They freely criticize others’ grammar while lacking real knowledge of grammar themselves.

Making mistakes is a natural part of learning a language, and for some people—depending on their environment—mistakes may always be part of their spoken language.

In this anecdote, the person spoke very good French but chose to focus on the small aspects they still struggled with. This makes sense; however, in actual language use, we naturally rely on some structures more than others. Through regular use, learners acquire these structures and incorporate them into their daily speech.

While we could focus a course on the subjunctive, focusing solely on grammar and theory will not, in our experience, result in intuitive use or improved retention of conjugations.

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Why memorizing grammar rules isn’t the key to fluency

Here’s a link to an explanation of the subjunctive.

You’ll see that there are many variables. But in real speech, we don’t pause to think about them. Instead, we recognize patterns automatically. It becomes easier when we understand that the subjunctive almost always follows que in certain conditions.

“Clarification: The subjunctive isn’t always triggered by que. While que is a common trigger, it depends on the preceding verb or expression (e.g., il faut que, je veux que). Certain verbs, conjunctions, and impersonal expressions systematically require the subjunctive, but que alone does not dictate its use.”

Then, the conjugation—except for exceptions—follows predictable patterns. The good thing about exceptions? They happen to be some of the most commonly used words. And there are plenty of verbs that simply aren’t used in the subjunctive because they don’t make sense in that tense. So, is it really worth memorizing them all?

How language learning actually works

What does it mean when conjugations are always the same?

Spoken language evolved to be learned naturally.

Humans acquire language as children without formal instruction—through exposure and interaction. We learn by hearing others speak, especially parents, caregivers, family, and friends.

As such, spoken language is phonetic. Over time, languages developed systematic patterns to make learning easier. **Languages don’t require learners to memorize each word individually—**instead, they create reusable structures and patterns.

In French, this is clear in verb conjugation. Most verbs fall into three groups, and their conjugations follow predictable patterns.

Even an illiterate person can speak and conjugate correctly—not by studying grammar, but by recognizing sounds.

The Wug Test in English is a great example of this (and applies to all languages).

But what about exceptions?

Yes, French has many exceptions—but like in most languages, these are remnants of older linguistic structures.

As language evolved, most older forms became redundant, replaced by newer and more intuitive structures. But some of the most essential words remained unchanged—because they were used so frequently.

And that’s the key takeaway: exceptions are exceptions precisely because they are common—meaning you will be exposed to them naturally.

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What does this have to do with learning tenses like the subjunctive?

The point isn’t that you shouldn’t learn it. The point is that trying to memorize all the endings and rules won’t get you very far.

Languages must be used. Spoken language is learned phonetically—by speaking and listening.

The more exposure you have, the easier it becomes to recognize structures and internalize conjugations without actively thinking about them.

You’ll start to notice that que often triggers a specific sound pattern a few words later.

Speaking vs. Writing

In normal conversation, we don’t have time to overthink our sentences. We just speak.

The problem with overanalysing grammar? It often creates hesitation rather than fluency.

Grammar rules do become more relevant when we write, especially in languages like French and English, where spelling and pronunciation don’t always align.

However, in our experience, learners who struggle structurally with writing often also struggle structurally with speaking. They may have fluency, but their sentence construction is off.

And that’s not a question of formal grammar instruction, but rather a lack of structured speaking practice.

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Final Thought

Learning the theory of grammar isn’t useless, but it’s not the foundation of fluency in speaking and comprehension.

Exposure, active listening, and speaking are what make language stick.

So yes, you can take a course on the subjunctive.

But in the end, fluency comes from using language—not memorizing rules.