Questions & Answers about Je suis sûr qu'il reçoit une promotion.
Why is it qu'il instead of que il?
The word que (that) ends in an 'e', and il (he) starts with a vowel. In French, you must drop the 'e' in que and replace it with an apostrophe when the next word starts with a vowel or a silent 'h'. This is called elision and it makes pronunciation smoother. In English, I can just say "I am sure he is receiving a promotion." Can I skip the qu' in French?
No, you cannot. In English, the linking word "that" is often optional. However, in French, the conjunction que (or qu') is absolutely required to connect the two parts of the sentence. You can never leave it out. Why does the 'c' in reçoit have a little hook under it?
That mark is called a cedilla. The base verb is recevoir. Normally in French, a 'c' before an 'o' makes a hard "k" sound. To keep the soft "s" sound from the original verb, a cedilla is added to the 'c' whenever it is followed by an 'a', 'o', or 'u'. Would a female speaker write this sentence differently?
Yes! The word sûr (sure) is an adjective describing the speaker. If the speaker is a woman, she must add an 'e' to the end to make it feminine: Je suis sûre. The pronunciation is exactly the same, but the spelling changes. Learn Je suis sûr qu'il reçoit une promotion and more in French
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