Question 1

Why do we use a été conquis instead of était conquis for 'was conquered'?

Accepted Answer

A été conquis is the passive voice in the passé composé. We use it here because the conquering is seen as a completed, specific historical event. If you used était conquis (the imparfait), it would describe an ongoing state or background description in the past, rather than the completed action of the queen taking the territory.

Question 2

Does the -s at the end of conquis mean it is plural?

Accepted Answer

No, territoire is masculine singular. The verb conquérir (to conquer) has an irregular past participle that naturally ends in an -s in its base form: conquis. In the passive voice, the past participle always agrees with the subject (Ce territoire). If the subject were feminine, like Cette ville (This city), it would add an -e and become a été conquise.

Question 3

Why do we use par for 'by' here? Could we use de?

Accepted Answer

In the passive voice, par is used to introduce the person or thing doing the action for most physical or specific actions, like conquering. You only use de instead of par when the verb expresses an emotion (like being loved or respected) or a general state (like being covered with something). Since conquering is a specific action, par is required.

Question 4

Why is it Ce territoire and not Cet territoire?

Accepted Answer

Territoire is a masculine noun starting with a consonant, so it takes the standard masculine demonstrative adjective ce (this/that). You only use cet for masculine nouns that start with a vowel or a mute H, like cet arbre (this tree) or cet homme (this man).

Ce territoire a été conquis par la reine.

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