Question 1

Why is croisons in the present tense if the sentence is about a future event?

Accepted Answer

In French, just like in English, sentences with "if" (si) that describe a likely future event use the present tense for the "if" part and the future tense for the result. That is why we use the present tense si nous croisons (if we cross) followed by the futur simple notre équipe gagnera (our team will win).

Question 2

Why does it say les doigts (the fingers) instead of nos doigts (our fingers)?

Accepted Answer

When talking about body parts, French almost always uses the definite article (le, la, les) instead of possessives (mon, nos, etc.) as long as it is obvious whose body part it is. Since the subject is nous, it is already understood that we are crossing our own fingers.

Question 3

Since a team is made up of many people, why is the verb gagnera in the singular form?

Accepted Answer

Une équipe (a team) is a collective noun. Even though it refers to a group of people, the grammatical word itself is singular (one team). Because of this, you must conjugate the verb in the third-person singular (il/elle) form: elle gagnera.

Question 4

Is croiser les doigts used the exact same way as "crossing your fingers" in English?

Accepted Answer

Yes! This is one of those happy moments where an idiom translates perfectly word-for-word. French speakers use croiser les doigts to mean hoping for good luck, just like English speakers do.

Si nous croisons les doigts, notre équipe gagnera le match.

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