It seems that while it's technically correct to use indicative with "apres que", most people in France use the subjunctive in daily practice, and actually find it weird if you use the indicative. The practice is so common that it is becoming a defacto standard (e.g see https://www.francaisavecpierre.com/apres-que-subjonctif-ou-indicatif/). As I know Lawless is a strict grammarian, I will use the indicative and correct French speakers when they use the subjunctive (I also guess that I will soon be thrown out of France by a horde of angry French people :-) )
Use of Indicaitive vs subjunctive with "apres que"
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Use of Indicaitive vs subjunctive with "apres que"
Patrick and Nick,
you might find the link interesting as the topic also gets its own section.
Just as Camille notes, my wife knows the rule but also finds it ‘sounds strange’, and avoids après que - après (infinitive passé) is sometimes useful for instance, and avoids the ‘polemic’.
https://www.frenchtoday.com/blog/french-verb-conjugation/understanding-french-subjunctive/
![](/files/shared/_avatar-mids/user/167230/Screenshot_2021-11-22_at_23.49.40_619c1f297258e.jpg)
I concur. What's more, my french teacher (experienced native speaker) used the subjunctive with après que and I politely suggested to her that that was actually incorrect - she had no idea!
Thanks Maarten (great article) and Nick. Like you, I showed this to a native French speaker, and she also had no idea that you should use the indicative with "apres que", and also thought it sounded wrong. My takeaway: If you're in everyday French communication, use the subjunctive; if you're taking a French language exam, use the indicative. (But because I know Lawless will ding me, I will use indicative here :-) )
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