The subjunctive mood is used to express actions or ideas which are subjective or otherwise uncertain: will/wanting, emotion, doubt, possibility, necessity, judgment. It is nearly always found in dependent clauses introduced by que or qui, and the subjects of the dependent and main clauses are usually different. Je veux que tu le fasses. I want you to do it. Il faut que j'aie de la confiance. it is necessary that I have confidence. The subjunctive can seem overwhelming, but the thing to remember is the subjunctive = subjectivity, unreality. That should help you figure it out at least 90% of the time.

Deux liens qui t'expliqueront cela mieux que moi. http://www.francaisfacile.com/exercices/exercice-francais-2/exercice-francais-13759.php http://www.francaisfacile.com/exercices/exercice-francais-2/exercice-francais-4514.php

My Spanish teacher used to say that if you're on the fence about whether to use the subjunctive or not, use it, and you'll be right 95% of the time. That success rate will be lower in French, which is more conservative in subjunctive use, I think, than Spanish. But French uses it much more than in English, where sentences like "It's important that you *be* on time are increasingly rare. I would not say it's "not used all that often." Try this. Hope it helps: http://french.about.com/library/verb/bl-subjunctivator.htm